Every Friday night, college girls around the country prepare for a night out by caking on a little extra makeup (that contour has got to be on point), fixing their natural hair into looking completely unnatural, putting on an outfit that covers the least skin possible, and drinking a little bit of liquid courage in the hopes of finding a lucky one-night suitor. To us college students, hookups are considered normal and accepted [hooking up being anything from making out to making love and everything in between]. The question is, should we be concerned about the rise of acceptance of the hookup culture?
There are definitely moments when I’m like “I don’t need no man to complete me”, but there are also moments where I feel like a committed relationship would be easier and healthier. From a young age, our generation has been confused by mixed principles when dealing with a possible fling or love prospect. We have grown up with stories of true love like The Notebook, Titanic, and Dear John that push us towards wanting the relationships and kinds of loves the characters have. However, we were also influenced by movies like Sex and the City, No Strings Attached, and Friends with Benefits which linked a woman’s independence to the hookup culture. Our generation is moving towards a radical change, though sometimes I feel as though we are also conflicted with keeping past ideals.
Due to the sexual appeal of random hookups in movies, music videos, and magazines, many have come accustomed to the hookup lifestyle. Our generation is so obsessed with sex, alcohol, and drugs and many have seem to forgotten about the principles of love and respect. It is normal to hook up with someone and never see/talk to them again because many are just in it for the one action of the hookup. Many don’t even find it disrespectful to do this because of the mutual consent. If people are mutually aware that they are both in it for the hookup and not anything else, I think hooking up is fine. However, if one partaker expects something more and hopes for something like love, it may be seen as disrespectful and douchey to hookup and then desert someone soon after. The problem I have with random hookups is that the area around them is always so grey. I feel like no one ever wants to say out loud that they are literally just looking to hook up, because it might leave the other person discouraged. In an effort to mesh the old ideals of chivalry and love with our generation’s new hookup prerogative, people have to be clear about what they want. Literally just communicate, because if he’s tryin’ to hookup and your tryin’ to hookup I SAY GO FOR IT GIRL. GET YO MAN. Just make sure he/she isn’t a serial killer stalker who is hanging your pictures on his wall. All I’m saying is maybe do a background check and ask him/her about his intentions (even if it does feel awkward). Seems to work for me!!
Overall, I think we should monitor our hookups. Stay true to what makes us genuinely happy and still think about the possibility of finding love in the future. Keep your options open and your expectations with random hookups low. (Wait that’s kind of sad, but so true).
Pictures Courtesy of: http://1huf4c2navwc2gbyiv1egkwl.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploa…