On Monday November 4, religious studies professor at Boston University Donna Freitas visited Hamilton and gave a lecture in which she discussed her findings from her latest research on the hook-up culture at college campuses. In her study, she sought to discover whether religiosity, gender, and sexuality influence the degree to which college students hook up. While teaching at a small college in Vermont, she decided to offer a course about spirituality and sex. During this course, one of her students confessed that she truly felt unsatisfied by the hook-up culture. After this one student expressed this honest belief, many other students in the class confessed similar sentiments. Freitas found it fascinating that so many college-aged students did not enjoy the hook-up culture, yet continued to participate in it. As a result of these experiences, she became interested in learning more about the hook-up culture at a variety of colleges around the country.
In her study, she found that 80% of the participants identified themselves as spiritual or religious to some degree. These findings were consistent with prior, larger-scale studies on religiosity among college students. In the qualitative portion of her study, she asked students to describe of situations that they consider romantic. Interestingly, many students expressed that true romantic events should not include sexual intimacy. For example, many students felt that simply talking to a significant other or person of interest in a pretty setting was romantic; however, the moment kissing began, the situation no longer seemed romantic. Freitas found this surprising since in her generation people often mixed sexual intimacy and romantic moments.
In her research on the hook-up culture, she interviewed students about their attitudes and feelings about their experiences of hooking up. While many students engaged in the hook-up culture, they mainly used the following words to describe their hook-ups: awkward, used, dirty, regretful, empty, alone, miserable, disgusted, ashamed, duped, and even abused. Most of her respondents either felt upset or ambivalent about hooking up. She emphasized that many students saw hooking up as the only option; however, they expressed to her that they would enjoy and be open to dating if others were too. Many students also felt that hooking up served as the most efficient way to engage in sexual activities since they felt too busy to maintain a romantic relationship.
Freitas highlighted the great degree to which students think their peers enjoy the hook-up culture. She noted that this misperception about the hookup culture has helped perpetuate it. In her concluding remarks, she emphasized the importance of having positive sexual experiences and exploring one’s sexuality in a safe environment. She gave an engaging lecture and provided a new perspective on the hook-up culture. Her book Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America’s College Campuses is now available for purchase.