Hooking Up.

This past semester I took a class called Human Sexuality in a Social Context and we talked about everything under the suns. Just thought I'd share some things with you. Thoughts are appreciated!


    Hooking Up. When I began college 4 years ago hooking up I understood hooking up to mean making out or passionately kissing and that was it. Little did I know that I was a little behind the time with my definition of hooking up. I quickly found out that hooking up could actually mean having sex! I was completely shocked and amazed and a little confused that the term hooking up was used to represent something that I had seen as a precious and memorable could be described so casually. I must admit that it has taken me almost my entire college career to fully understand and accept this definition -- for a while I really looked down upon it.
    When we talked about hooking up in class we talked about why partnering has evolved into this and what function it serves in society. In college, this culture is extremely prevalent and on campuses such as Brown it has essentially taken the place of dating. It seems as though people are either hooking up or are in a serious relationship at Brown. Gone are the days of going on dates or getting to know someone in ways that don't include sexual intimacy.
    Hooking up provides young men and women the sexual benefits of being in a relationship, with none of the commitment or responsibilities. Hooking up in most cases is not seen as exclusive and in most cases women often have a much more difficult time handing these types of situations than men. While men can more easily have sex for the physical pleasure, women often associate sex with a more emotional connection to the person, creating somewhat of discrepancy between what men think/want and what women think/want.
    It was also very interesting when talking about 'who' we hook up with. It never crossed my mind that the people that people hook up with would be any different from the people they choose to date or marry. I discovered that there are different qualities that are sought out for hook up, usually revolved around more physical appearances such as: physical attractiveness, body, face, hair, etc. Whereas in relationships, people want a partner, someone they can talk to freely, someone who is motivated, caring, etc -- all qualities that aren't important when looking for a hook up. We ended the discussion talking about whether hooking up can evolve into a committed relationship and it seemed that in most cases hooking up doesn't evolve into anything more than a hook up.

What do you think?