Hook Up Culture

Sex in short-term and early dating relationships occurs when two people have sexual intercourse without establishing a strong emotional connection. The term “hookup” or “one-night stand” is often used in the context of short-term sex. It is common for men to use short-term sex for social status and sexual satisfaction. Women are more likely to engage in short-term sex to enhance the establishment of a long term relationship. However, this is not always true. Stereotypically people believe that women are not prone to engage in “one night stands” but that’s not always the case. Women will engage in short term sexual relationships for many of the same reasons men do, physical pleasure, sexual desire and sexual experimentation.
For men the preferred short-term sexual partner is physically attractive, while for women the preferred short-term sexual partner is physically attractive, older, more experienced and interpersonally responsive.
Research also suggest that short-term sexual encounters factors into where a relationship will go from that point.

What I mean by “hook up” culture is that many of my close friends, both male and female are not in committed relationships. There is an attitude of “freedom” and if one begins to enter into a relationship, we are losing them from our inner circle, once again both male and female. An example would be when one of my close friends was continuing to engage in short-term sexual encounters with a partner we began to tell him that these repeated “hookups” will result in a committed