Editor's note: Only first names were used for students interviewed for this article because of the personal nature of the story.
It's a crowded Thursday night at Red Brick Tavern, a popular Court Street hotspot. Under the dim lighting, young women with plunging necklines dance seductively to My Humps with the bar's famous oversized mugs of beer in hand.
Many of the girls denied they were trying to attract the attention of the polo-wearing men standing in groups surveying the gyrating women. I just come to the bars to hang out with my girl friends
one female Ohio University senior tells me. If it happens it happens.
One man's reason why he came to the bars that night: I came to get laid.
This response might not come as a surprise to many women, as hooking up at bars and parties can seem tremendously more common than the traditional dinner date in college. But some experts question the effect sex without commitment has on women ' does it harm or empower them?
Unhooked
In journalist Laura Sessions Stepp's book Unhooked: How Young Women Pursue Sex, Delay Love and Lose at Both, released in February, she alleges that hooking up in college ' anything from a kiss to sex, Stepp writes ' is a harmful behavior. Stepp urges women to wait for a personal relationship before embarking on a sexual one. The book was met with controversy from critics, who argue that women can hook up with men without negative consequences.
Some college women disagree with Stepp's perspective. I don't think you're hurting yourself said Kristin, a freshman. If it really hurt people that much
then it wouldn't happen over and over again.
A 2001 report titled Hooking Up, Hanging Out, and Hoping for Mr. Right: College Women on Mating and Dating Today, published by An Institute for American Values, showed women had mixed feelings about the issue. Sixty-one percent of the women who said that a hook up made them feel desirable also reported that it made them feel awkward.
To commit or not to commit
Some college women opt out of serious relationships for more casual hook ups ' either because they want to concentrate on other things or they don't feel like the men are available.
According to Stepp, one reason women aren't necessarily seeking out relationships is because they already have emotional support from their girl friends, as illustrated by the show Sex and the City. Instead of investing in romantic relationships, women cultivate relationships with their girl friends.
Christina says that she is more likely to talk to her friends about sex and relationships then a romantic partner. When my roommates and I are together
all that we talk about is sex
she said.
Finding a committed partner can also be difficult, said Sandi, a freshman. Many guys who want a relationship are already in one, she said.
Jeremy, an OU junior, says that he isn't always looking to hook up, but he doesn't want a relationship either.
Why would I get involved in a serious thing
when I'm just going to graduate and move away? he said.
Christina, a senior, says that women are more likely than men to be restless in a committed relationship. It's hard to factor someone else into all of your plans
she says. Women want to be edgy; they have more options.
Free love?
Judith Grant, director of the women's studies program at OU, agrees with Stepp that repeated episodes of hooking up can be harmful to young women. She said that women often don't realize that as they pursue sexual relationships, they are really objectifying themselves.
When women have free sex
it really isn't free
she said. Even women who are really strong can face heartbreak or rejection in that kind of intimate situation.
A freshman named Rachel affirms Grant's position.
I think for guys
it's a lot about hooking up; for girls it's more of an emotional thing
