Step 1: Fuck feelings.
Step 2: Fuck.
Urban Dictionary defines “hookup culture” as “the era that began in the early 1990s and has since prevailed on college campuses and elsewhere when hooking up has replaced traditional dating as the preferred method of heterosexual liaison.” Forgive me for being extreme, as I’ve always been one for theatrics, but, in my experience, that eloquent definition has almost always boiled down to the two simple steps listed above. It’s a rite of passage that welcomes one into the community of sloppy frat hookups and one-night stands, whose “morning after” relish-to-regret ratio is often inconsistent, to put it generously.
But is it healthy? While not every rendezvous that comes with embracing this “whimsical” culture ends at home base, it doesn’t make anyone immune to the health detriments that are risked by this practice.
Health-wise, not everyone has as jaded an outlook on modern-day hookup practices as myself. A study by the National Library of Medicine, including self-reports from first-year college women, found that the common benefits of hookup culture included sexual satisfaction at 23 percent, general positive emotions at 21 percent, increased confidence at 11 percent and clarification of feelings at 11 percent. Overall, 71 percent of the women studied reported at least one benefit. And it’s true that sex is a very natural human experience, and many argue that a lack of relationship status shouldn’t keep people from engaging in sexual activity. There are also known health benefits to sexual activity. ScholarshipPoints says that “being sexually active improves your immune system, improves your mood, lowers your blood pressure, can ease stress or anxiety and basically improves your overall health in general.” And this collection of “feel good” effects shouldn’t just be reserved for the lucky few who can check off the box next to “taken.” This, I do agree with. I mean, as an advocate and longtime checker of the box next to “going to die alone,” I’d like to believe there’s even hope for a cause as lost as myself.
While I do respect the argument in theory, I just don’t see how these positive outcomes outweigh the negative health-related ones The American Psychological Association says that hookups can lead to “emotional and psychological injury, sexual violence, sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancy.” And, while people are vulnerable to some of these regardless of the nature of their relationships, hookup culture increases the likelihood and extent to which these harm an individual tenfold. Without the monogamy of a typical relationship, college students are at the disposal of the infamous gray area. Labels like “friends with benefits’’ or other pseudo-commitments can lead to a “false sense of security that might make people be less cautious,” as described by a health and wellness educator at Boston University. Often, the contingencies of hookup culture, such as being less comfortable and transparent and spending less time getting to know the person, result in false perceptions of others’ sexual histories and practices, increasing the health risks of engaging in sexual activity with that person. People think they can tell if someone is clean, disease-free and safe to be intimate with because of superficial assumptions. These assumptions, formed “by looking at them, by the way they dress and by the people they associate with,” are the result of our generation’s snap judgments, the Boston University educator says.
Let’s talk STDs. No, this is not an acronym for a Greek life organization, but rather that of the infamous Sexually Transmitted Disease. The polygamy of hookup culture, or engaging with multiple sexual partners, greatly increases the chances of transmission. According to the CDC, Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually-transmitted disease on college campuses. It is the cause of several kinds of cancer, including cervical and genital, and has become a huge issue for young people as it often lacks noticeable symptoms. This makes transmission through oral or penetrative sex much more likely. And the worst part is that there is no cure. While this is not the case for all STDs, many do have long-lasting or residual impacts, and that is the difference. While happy moods and de-stressing are valid health benefits of sex, they remain short-lived. However, unwanted pregnancy, STDs and the emotional damage that comes with traumatic sexual experiences can present life-long consequences for an unsuspecting individual.
In my experience, hookup culture has its share of ups and downs, which often takes the form of ghosts of makeouts past and the occasional fella who just fell off the face of the earth. But I’m lucky in that the only scathing aftermath it has really left me with is a pathetic track record, an ever-dwindling faith in men and a strict code of “men are assholes until proven otherwise.” But this is not true for everyone and, while I cannot pretend to understand what it must be like to endure some of the health-threatening repercussions that come with hookup culture, I do know that it’s time we start raising awareness of these dangers instead of just saying, “Oh, it’s college.” Because it is just college, until it’s not. Until “it’s chlamydia” or “it’s sexual assault” or “it’s positive.”
Julia O’Reilly is a sophomore majoring in biology.