Social Norms of Sexually Active Women Compared to Sexually Active Men

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Hooking up has essentially become a social norm in today’s society. Hooking up is almost second nature to adolescents and college students (Armstrong, Accounting for Women’s...) When comparing female standards of hooking up to the male standard it is repeatedly proven that women are judged much more harshly than the average man. Other studies find women’s sexual pleasure is heightened in long term relationships and women are expected to perform sexual acts that society has deemed okay, but men are not expected to return the favor(in the eyes of society.) In today’s society social norms have given women different morals than men and given women different outlooks and expectations of sex. It is not unknown that a woman is judged differently than a man. A man can have several sex partners and a woman the same number, but the woman is looked upon in a negative light. In the late 1950’society frowned upon women having premarital sex, but not men (Backstrom, Women’s Cunnilingus.) Today, the same thing is occurring but with sex outside of the relationship. It is not uncommon that people participate in premarital sex in current times like it was in the past. Now it’s having sex outside an exclusive relationship that people have a negative outlook on. This is exactly what hooking up is: sexual activity, which can span from a kiss to intercourse, outside of a committed relationship. Men are almost put on a pedestal when they refer to the amount of hook ups they are involved in. Women, however, have a completely different set of standards that they are being held too. This makes it much more challenging for a woman to express her sexual desires and keep a respectable reputation. Research implies that women are put to shame when it comes to... ... middle of paper ... ...ion for women just looking for hook ups. Whether it is the amount of sexual partners or how sexual satisfaction is acquired, women should not be placed at a different set of moral standards than a man. Today’s society has wrongly given women a different set of moral standards and expectations toward sexual experiences in comparison to men. Works Cited Armstrong, Elizabeth , Paula England, and Allison Fogarty. "Accounting for Women's Orgasm and Sexual Enjoyment in College Hookups and Relationships." American Sociological Review 1 (2012): n. pag. ASA. Web. 9 Feb. 2014. Backstrom, Laura , Elizabeth Armstrong, and Jennifer Puentes. "Women's Cunnilingus in College Hookups and Relationships." Journal of Sex Research 49 (2012): 1-12. Print. Kalish, Rachel, and Michael Kimmel. "Hooking Up." Australian Feminist Studies 25.67 (2011): n. pag. Summon. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.

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