We’ve all heard the stereotypes about the college hook-up culture. There are those who shame the apparent hypersexuality of young adults and others who embrace the supposed widespread one-night-stand epidemic. The assumption is that if you’re in college, you’re having sex and lots of it — with lots of people and in lots of places.
We went into our sex survey expecting a variety of statistics that would, at the very least, make us blush and, at the very most, make us squeamish. We’ve all seen the couple that goes a little too far in Tom & Marty’s or seems on the verge of banging at a house party. It can leave the impression that everyone is swapping way more than spit after a night out.
But when examining the results, we saw a different outcome. It became clear that just because a few people are getting rowdy at The Rat that doesn’t mean everybody and their roommate is taking someone home. The reality is that college kids are just not as crazy as we might think.
The majority of responders reported having between one and three sexual partners, and even more students said they either had or wanted to have a consistent sexual relationship. Going further into dispelling myths about college student promiscuity, fewer than 50 percent of participants have had a one-night stand or met a partner day-of.
There’s a culture of inclusivity evolving, where we’re trying to embrace everyone’s kinks and preferences. Being open-minded is becoming cool, and with that there comes a mindset that an insatiable sexual appetite is not only a possibility but an expectation and norm. And we’ve all seen the TV shows and movies, in which college students have a wild time, hooking up with everyone.
But here at BU, at least, that’s far from the truth. Just as many of you are having study dates as are working your way through the Kama Sutra. And that’s OK. It’s great to know those we’re hooking up with, it’s great to settle down in a relationship and it’s also great to randomly make out in Venue. So don’t feel the pressure. Not everyone is living up to the image of college that we see in the media — in fact, not many are living up to it at all at Binghamton University.
Take a look through the issue — we have the numbers to back it up. Over 40 percent of responders have had between one and three sexual partners, and an equal amount are virgins as have gotten down with seven to 12 people. Intimacy seems to be just as in as intercourse; dates are just as popular as dildos.
The message is clear — have the sex life that you want. If you’d like to hook-up with as many people as possible, have a ton of one-night stands and live your college life — but be safe. If you want to settle down into a relationship, or have a consistent sex partner, then do that. And, if you don’t want to have sex at all, that’s OK, too. Our results show that despite what you might think, there is no specific sex life that college students are supposed to lead. Instead, do what makes you happy.