Hookup Culture During a Global Pandemic
Hookup culture characterizes the social scene of many college campuses today. And while it may trigger memories of the infamous “walk of shame” and impulsive, alcohol-fueled decisions, the reality is that it is the way that many of us explore and express our sexuality.
It doesn’t, however, come without a price. Engaging in casual sexual encounters can be risky (STDS and pregnancy!) and its close friendship with alcohol and drugs may be used as an excuse to “blur” the lines of consent. While hookup culture has its controversies, the decision to engage in it ultimately just comes down to individual choice. And based on its presence in popular culture and before our eyes every weekend in college, it’s a choice many of us pick.
But, as the world is turned upside down by coronavirus, we have experienced drastic changes in almost all aspects of our life: how we work, how we play, how we spend time with family & friends, the list goes on. As many of us return to campus this semester, the question then becomes how will hookup culture change as well? While we may not have all the answers to this, the experts definitely have their say about how it should change in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Public health officials around the world and within the U.S. are encouraging people to still enjoy sex but in a safe way because there are significant coronavirus risks in hooking up. The main precautions are:
Try to avoid physically hooking up if possible. Ways to enjoy sex without being physical with someone can include:
Masturbation
Phone sex
Sexting
If you do hookup with anyone, you should try to have sexual relations with someone you live with (Avert)
If you are having sex with someone outside your household (New York Times):
Avoid kissing
Wear a mask
Be selective about the number of sexual partners you have
Have a discussion with your partner(s) about what else you’re doing outside of your household to prevent the spread of coronavirus
However, one tendency we have unfortunately seen is that teenagers and young adults are less likely to follow safety rules regarding coronavirus. Perhaps it’s a reaction to the unpredictable loss of control, the sentiment that we are young and invincible, or our not yet matured brains. Whatever it is, many young adults around the country are still flocking to the beaches, throwing parties, and acting irrationally and dangerously in regards to coronavirus. So, can we expect that college students are actually taking these precautions while hooking up this semester? The volatile combination of hookup culture as a mindset along with the increasing prevalence of teenagers rebelling against coronavirus guidelines suggests that we probably can’t. As a sophomore at Duke University, I set out to find a surface understanding of this question through interviewing fellow students.
I interviewed a sophomore, junior, and senior who had hooked up with someone casually pre-coronavirus and this semester to find out how/if their experience had changed and what precautions students are taking.
I first interviewed a sophomore guy who identified as bisexual. He and his sexual partner were friends before and had hooked up in the past. He said that, last year, he would meet sexual partners through different parties and events. However, now he is meeting hook-ups through mutual friends or online dating apps. While he did ask his partner if he had any symptoms before, he did not use any precautionary methods like wearing a mask or avoiding kissing because he felt like he could trust the other person. He also noted that as long as you trust the person and you’re both abiding by other COVID guidelines, it should be a pretty ordinary hookup.
The junior I interviewed was a woman that identified as heterosexual. Her sexual partner was also someone she had hooked up with in the past. Although she said she may have hooked up with this partner regardless of the pandemic, she also noted that it made more sense to her to be with someone within her circle of friends to minimize any risks of coronavirus. She did ask her hook-up if he had any coronavirus symptoms but took no precautions during the encounter because she had already been interacting with and had similar exposure to him. Like the sophomore I interviewed, she mentioned having trust in her partner to come forward with any additional risks he may have encountered/been exposed to. She also pointed out that if there was no pandemic, there would be more opportunities to hook up with friends/acquaintances further away from her immediate social circle. Her choice to engage in hookup culture was a response to the isolation, loneliness, and lack of intimate relations experienced during quarantine and summer.
Finally, the senior I interviewed was woman and identified as heterosexual. Like the former two people, she also specified that her hook-up was someone she was friends and had already been with. She noted that her choice to hook up with this person was influenced by coronavirus risks; she knew who he had been around and she had already been exposed to him. While she didn’t specifically ask if he had any symptoms of coronavirus prior to the encounter, she did have a conversation with him about who he had been with before sexually and had knowledge that he had tested negative recently. When I asked about why she chose to have a casual sexual encounter during a pandemic, she said that it was an attempt to continue living a relatively normal life, given that there are risks in almost any social activity we do now.
While this small pool of interviews obviously doesn’t reflect all the ways students on college campuses are hooking up, it does show us some common themes. One thing that came up in all three interviews? Trust. All three students emphasized the importance of trusting their sexual partner to come forward with any potential risks or dangerous exposures they may have had to COVID-19. All interviewees also mentioned hooking up selectively, that is, specifically choosing to hookup with previous partners and/or those within their social circle. And while each had different incentives for their casual flings, they all still planned to continue to do so.
Even without its typical facilitators, like alcohol consumption in large gatherings, hookup culture has still found a way to remain commonplace on Duke’s campus, and I would assume, other ones as well. It has extended its dominance on our generation’s social life, even in a time when we are bombarded by guidelines that tell us not to hug or even shake hands.
Essentially, hookup culture is alive and well during this global pandemic. In my opinion, its survival comes from its ability to adapt. Even while we continue to engage in these casual sexual encounters, we are willing to make necessary changes in order to continue doing so. When our world changes, hookup culture evolves, perhaps one of the largest indicators that it is here to stay for the foreseeable future.
By Sana Pashankar
Duke student, avid nickname maker, caffeine enthusiast, and future city girl.