GENERATION seX
Hookups predominant on campuses
By Kim Dishler
Rocket Editor-in-Chief
Issue date: 11/19/04 Section: News
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As attitudes toward sex have grown increasingly receptive, the sexual culture on college campuses has also shifted. In the past year, Harvard University announced it approved plans for a student-run magazine that will include nude photos of undergraduates; Tufts University hosted "Sex on the Hill," which included sex-based activities; Penn State University and the University of Illinois both had sex fairs and the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, was scheduled to host a special seminar entitled "Bondage 101," to teach participants how to use ropes safely in a sexual context.
"Definitely attitudes have relaxed a lot," said Jodi Solito, coordinator of health promotion at Slippery Rock University. "Attitudes become more permissive about people having sex."
Acclaimed author Tom Wolfe recently published a novel titled I am Charlotte Simmons, which tells of rampant sexual activity at beer-soaked college parties from the perspective of its main character. Wolfe mostly describes the hookup culture that has taken over campuses in place of dating and relationships.
While Wolfe's novel may exaggerate slightly, he did spend time at various colleges around the country and his findings may not be far off.
"From what I've read about the college-age population and even high school, sex has become more of a recreational activity," Solito said. "People are having sex for something to do and not because they love each other."
The hookup is a phenomenon that seems to be growing in popularity, but the term itself is ambiguous. In a study by the Institute for American Values, commissioned by the Independent Women's Forum, hooking up is defined as a sexual encounter, anything ranging from kissing to having sex, that lasts only one night. The hookup is usually spontaneous with partners who are usually strangers. These partners rarely build a relationship or see each other again.
"I think the increase in hooking up relates in part to the mechanistic version of sex education that has been taught to so many young people," said Elizabeth Marquardt, co-author of the report and an affiliate scholar at the Institute for American Values. "I don't favor ignorance, and I believe sex ed is important, but the purely physiological way it has been taught - this is how this organ works, this is how that organ works, prevent pregnancy and disease this way - coupled with the soulless portrayal of sex in the media helps feed this notion of hooking up as a brief, emotionless, physical connection between two people."
