Sexual Hook-Up Culture Notes

Sexual Hook-Up Culture An article written by Garcia et.al from the American Psychological Association discusses the cause and effects of “sexual hook-up culture” specifcally in college settings. The research used is concentrated to the psychological consequences of partaking in casual sex. More specifically, the type of data used are results from previous studies and surveys that have been conducted. With that being said, the article progresses from first discussing how sexual hook up culture was created and accepted in society to the majority of the article discussing the psychological responses from hooking up. Additionally, the psychological responses are justified by qualitative data between both sexes. The author of this article relies greatly on qualitative data from many previous studies which leaves very little room for using the sociological imagination. However, there are some places where the sociological imagination is applied, especially in regards to how sexual hook up culture emerged. The authors also imply some correlational claims that regard the relationship between hook up culture and sexual risk and between prevalence of hook ups and having previous experience of hooking up. Overall, this article is structured in such a way that objectivity is very high as the author’s claims are supported with immense amounts of data. The intent of this article is most likely to inform the audience of the impacts of casual sex which can be deduced from the lack of blatant opinions and inclusion of many refrences after every claim. Aforementioned, the data used within this article are statistics from previous studies and surveys. For instance, after it is claimed that casual sex can result in guilt, the reference of a study with 169 people is mentioned to include that 32% of men and 72% of women would feel guilty after having casual sex with someone they just met (Herold & Mewhinney, 1993). Additionally, the author uses a plethora of different references, which indicates that the information and statistics being included are free of bias as multiple sources reinforces the claims the author is stating. It can be argued that there is a slight bias within the purpose of the article itself as the content is fixated mostly on the negative effects of casual sex, including information that highlight the negative responses to hook up culture. Thus, any positive effects or instances where casual sex is effective is not stated within the article. As an example, the main topics of the article are “hook-up regret, mental health, sexual risk, and sex-differenecs”. This conveys the message that the author has the intention to perhaps persuade the reader into not partaking in casual sex, indicating a bias that casual sex is a disagreeable action to be involved in. Moreover, this could justify why all the statistics mentioned were about the negative effects of casual sex, indicating an idirect bias. It is very evident that the author is attempting to make a correlation claim between hook up culture and sexual risk. For instance, it was stated that of the 50% of women who have had at least one experience of unwanted sex, 70% of it was during a hook up (Flack et al., 2007). By using these statistics, the author is attempting to correlate that sexual hook up is associated with unwanted sex because percentages of unwanted sex increase when participating in hook ups. Additionally, there is another correlation claim between individuals who have previously hooked up and the prevalence of hook ups. The author uses the statistic that states that individuals who have previously had casual sex are ‘600 percent more likely than others to repeat this” (Owen et al., 2011). It can be seen that the author is making an association, through the evidence of a statistic, that it is more likely hook ups will occur if an individual has hooked up in the past. These correlation claims are being used correctly because the author does not attempt to make it seem like previous hook ups are causing sexual risk or more casual sex, rather, the author is implying that there is a correlation. Moreover, by adding a statistic, a statistical relationship can be seen which further proves that there is a correlational relationship between 2 variables. The sociological imagination is a concept developed by C. Wright Mills which helps the ‘possessor to understand the larger historical scene’ in anyone’s personal life. More specifically, it helps to understand why people act and think the way they do, which is a result of a broader individualized or general historical context. With that being said, there are aspects to which the sociological imagination is applied within the article. The article is introduced by discussing how hook up culture was created: the surge of automobiles, media that depicts casual sex, and the rise of feminism. This historical context is then used to explain how and why hookup culture is so popular. This can be a use of the sociological imagination as the author is using a broader historical perspective to explain the reasons why people may participate in casual sex. Additionally, the statistics that are provided prove the societal roots that the sociological imagination states. For instance, the author includes the statistic that 70% of adolescents are sexually active, which then supports the idea that hook up culture is very prevalent in society (Grello, Welsh, Harper, & Dickson, 2003). However, the sociological imagination is applied, because prior to the statistic, the historical reasoning to how sexual activity increased in society was discussed. Thus, the statistic provides support that because of a cultural revolution, more people have become sexually active, demonstrating the type of broader, associative thinking needed to justify why a society partakes in the activities they do. Moreover, Mills states that using statistics helps the sociologist be objective and help answer the sociological question in an organized and unbiased manner. Therefore, it can be claimed that the statistics used in this article, especially in terms of the sociological imagination, is a methodological tactic used by the authors to provide support for their understanding on why sexual hook up culture is occuring and the implications of the activity. However, it should be mentioned that the sociological imagination is not applied in many areas of the article. Rather, the sociological imagination is only prevalent in the beginning of the article, when discussing the ‘cultural revolution’. This is due to the fact that historical context is only provided in one section of the article, which is needed for the sociological imagination to be applied. The majority of the article contains claims that are immediately supported by recent statistics that support the claim, instead of a reasoning as to why the claims made are occurring. Therefore, it can be deemed that the sociological imagination is only used to explain how sexual hook up culture became prevalent in society and not as to why there are so many negative effects of hook up culture. Normalcy in sexual hook up culture is a relatively recent phenomenon that has developed through an evolution in culture: media, feminism, and technology. This article explores the implications hook up culture can have on young adults and includes statistical evidence to support every claim made. Although this article is very objective, the lack of positive outcomes from hook up culture can be seen as a bias to persuade the reader into not partaking in the activity. Additionally, the author makes a correlation between prevalence in hook ups to having experience in hook up culture and a correlation between a prevalence in unwanted sex occuring within hook ups. Sociological imagination is also present in the article, in regards to how and why individuals participate in hookup culture, despite all the negative implications. To conclude, this article thoroughly describes all the potential harms and provides data to how there can be many risks in hooking up but is an overall objective article meant to inform the audience about sexual hook ups.