Reframing Sexual Responsibility: Hooking-up

Abstract

“Hook-up” culture can be seen as an outlet for women’s sexual freedom. For centuries women have not been allowed to express or have equal rights as men. Some feminists believe that women have grasped this “hook-up” culture as a way to gain sexual freedom and thus become more equal to men, but did this phenomenon backfire? This paper traces the historical emergence of “hooking-up” as a courtship ritual, explaining where it came from as well as what is new about it. The paper addresses the three themes of drugs and alcohol, sexual satisfaction, and the psychological well-being as lenses to assess hook-up practice and its relationship with sexuality. The paper also examines whether or not hook-up culture is empowering or disenfranchising for women.