Sex.Talk.Toolkit.
Hooking Up
Activity
Based on her research about American hookups on college campuses, Dr. Lisa Wade explains that there’s a difference between hookups and hookup culture. Sex on campus isn’t new; what’s new is a certain culture that’s emerged. What Dr. Wade means is that college students feel like they’re supposed to be having casual sex. That’s different from having the option to have casual sex.
What do you think about Dr. Wade’s proposition? What do you want to say about it? Do you agree? Disagree? A bit of both? Summarize your POV and discuss your views with at least one other classmate.
Resource
Listen to the NPR segment below until the 22:20 mark
• College students aren’t having as much sex as you might think.
• Students participate in 4 to 7 different hookups during 4 years in college.
• Having casual sex isn’t anything new. What’s new is the culture around casual hookup sex. Students report feeling like they’re supposed to be hooking up, whether or not they are — or even want to.
• About 30% of college students opt out of having sex.
• Students surveyed wanted 1 of 3 things from sex: pleasure, something meaningful, and empowerment. Yet they report getting none of these from casual sex.