Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Hook-Up Culture

In his article, “Hook-Up Culture,” Jack Grimes takes a very sexist approach in the argument. It is from a male perspective and fairly sterotypical. Although it probably sets the female audience off,it is very represenative of the college culture today. Take frat houses, sororities, and college parties for example. Girls and guys fall into specific gender roles and seem to embrace them. In this respect the perspective he comes from is reflective of our sad college reality.

Beyond initial shock, I believe he makes a strong argument concerning the detachment that has formed between sex and love. His description of love and the emotional aspect of sex are relevant and important to raise. In light of the changes that the college love scene has seen, Grimes went into detail on the importance that sex has for people not only physically, but also emotionally. Most people would agree with his assumptions of love and sex.

He then goes on and pinpoints the problems with causal sex and the contradiction of “sexual liberation.” The intimate fulfillment that people expect to find with hooking-up is ultimately leading to the downfall of love and people’s faith in attachment. Again, his argument centers on relevant ideas central to the cultural surrounding casual sex. It was especially important that he raised the notion of sexual liberation, as it is being used as a defense.

He leaves room for a rebuttal at the end, where ultimately it is up to us to decide what happens to the culture. Whether we will remain causal or bring the importance back to the act of sex. In pinpointing problems with the sexual liberation angle, he also opened up the other side’s defense. He was able to engage his opponents in a larger conversation.

At SU, I have noticed many of the points he raises. But I think to describe our generation as a “hook-up culture” is somewhat of an overgeneralization. I appreciated his argument in the name of love and intimacy. In highlighting the importance of love in sex, I think he is able to target the real importance of sex and why it should not be wasted or given freely. It was very good explanation of the direction the campus love scene is moving. Like his harshness or not, I believe it is part of the reality we are in.

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