On April 2nd, Donna Freitas’ new book, The End of Sex: How Hookup Culture is Leaving a Generation Unhappy, Sexually Unfulfilled, and Confused About Intimacy will be published and available on e-readers. I first heard of this Boston University assistant professor of religion in a January 2013 New York Times article, “The End of Courtship?”. Then, I saw her name again in an April 2013 Cosmopolitan article titled “Want More Than a Hookup?” in which Freitas answers Angela Ledgerwood’s questions about the upcoming book and its contents.
The premise of The End of Sex is the study of current college hookup culture and its effects on students who partake in such behavior. Ledgerwood’s “Want More Than a Hookup?” describes the outcome of the study in this way: “Freitas says that the pressure to hookup is making us unhappy and clueless about relationships…she wants you to have amazing sex.” Freitas’ book does not just study the effects on the female population (such as disappointment and emotional detachment); she also studies the negative effects on the male counterparts that feel obligated to conform to the masculine ideal. In addition, The End of Sex focuses on hookup culture’s direct relation to the decline of dating intelligence on campuses around the nation. Chapters cover the sexualization of women in pornography to the purity argument on which some students base their decision to opt out of casual hookups.
Although I am really excited to delve into this promising read, I am not so satisfied that a majority of the students Freitas interviews and quotes in the book are heterosexual. That means this research is lacking in complete understanding of hookup culture because we only have the heterosexual perspective. On the other hand, it is pretty cool that Freitas’ data demonstrate a similarity in effects on the binary genders (males and females). Another thing that could intrigue readers is Freitas’ examination of students’ use of alcohol in enabling hookup culture.
If you are finding yourself in a hookup-culture-induced rut (or you have piqued an interest in the college community’s thriving hookup culture), pick up or download Donna Freitas’ The End of Sex. This book is sure to inform and prepare you to conquer your inner desires for a more meaningful romantic and/or sexual life.
Pre-order her book here!