By Danielle Edwards
College campuses are cesspools for hooking up. Student Life offices and dorms often fund suggestive, and often cringey, sex-ed programs and activities to normalize conversations about sex positions, multiple partners and sexual exploration, and preach to freshman boys and girls that one-night stands are a gateway into adulthood. And as a young student who has only seen college through the lens of Hollywood movies, if everyone’s doing it, shouldn’t you?
However, as an institution packed with the Left’s so-called “social justice warriors” and feminists, isn’t it ironic that the “my body, my choice” campaigns and the “live in the moment, deal with the consequences later” mentality disproportionately hurts women? I guess colleges haven’t done their homework.
Hookup culture has led to the increase of sexual assault on colleges campuses. As young girls feel pressured to fit into the status quo and go home with the guy, guys fall under the impression that she’s “just another girl” and it’s “what she wanted” too.
The movement to pressure young girls to “free” their bodies has actually held them victim to the hands of hookup culture.
So, what is “hooking up”?
The Huffington Post stated that 94 percent of people have no clue what “hooking up” means. It could be anything from kissing to oral sex to intercourse, depending on who you ask. The highlighted study showed that young men favored hooking up more than young women and admit to it more. Only 45 percent of young women admitted to hooking up at least once in the past year. The men? 63 percent.
As a young student surrounded by new phrases and slang developing every day, sometimes Urban Dictionary has the quickest, most generational definition. They state, “any form of getting some type of action, such as, making out, feeling things, oral sex, or sex between two people. A ‘hook up’ is what’s referred to as doing those things when you’re not going out with anyone.”
Hooking up is intentionally a loose definition to avoid commitment with the person. But remember the movie, “No Strings Attached?” Sometimes the whole “no commitment” thing isn’t as “cool” as it seems.
Why this matters for girls:
The Center for Conservative Women’s resourceful booklet titled, “Sense and Sexuality,” shares that 91 percent of young girls admit to having feelings of regret immediately after hooking up. They feel used and guilty — 80 percent even wish it never happened and that same number say they felt vulnerable. These girls, despite saying they didn’t want emotional involvement, want to know that the person they were with cares about them.
Why do colleges and the mainstream feminist movement encourage young girls to believe sex doesn’t come without potential consequences? Aside from how hook-ups make women feel, there are also many health risks circumstantial to the culture. For example, STI rates have continued to increase among young adults.
Since 2013, the Center for Disease Control has seen an increase of syphilis (infections?) by 76 percent, gonorrhea 67 percent, and chlamydia 22 percent. Contracting an STI is a risk when pursuing any sexual relations. Hookup culture escalates this by encouraging individuals to constantly get with multiple partners, while knowing virtually nothing about their health.
It’s hard taking the mainstream feminist movement seriously when it doesn’t seem as though they have women’s best interests at heart. Looking at the statistics alone, it’s clear hookup culture hurts women with the high risk for STIs, chance of unwanted pregnancy, feelings of regret, and feelings of guilt have shown to affect women more, and often more seriously in regards to their health.
If we want to raise up and support fellow sisters and empower girls, we should encourage them to make decisions benefiting them and praising their self-worth.
The Left parades hookup culture as “sexual liberation” and, as long as she can live with herself after making such decisions, we shouldn’t ask questions and just let her be. But this celebration is dangerous. We’ve all been in a place where we’ve kept a friend around that we knew would support even our worst decisions. But it’s time to grow up. There are serious consequences that stem from decisions we make, especially hooking up with a stranger. Find the friend and support the movement that tells you the truth and values your health and self-worth.
What Now?
As another college woman taught by the Left on campus that hookup culture is normal – and “beneficial” – it can be hard to reject what you’re told and jump off the bandwagon.
Despite pressure from your peers, or expectations from men and the college climate, you do not need to give in to a culture full of negative emotional and physical consequences.
If you’d like to get tested for an STD, here’s a helpful link to find a location near you. If you’ve caught yourself stuck in this culture, it’s not too late to create a new path.
If you’d like a “Sense and Sexuality” guide, you can find it here.