By Manav Chordia
Why do we hookup? An authentic response would probably be, “It’s complicated.” With complex minds like ours, the reason why we indulge in such a ritual could range from a recent break up, a new experience, boredom or the promise of friends-with-benefits. There’s always going to be a period of time where one lets go of their regular inhibitions, attempts to dive into the realm of casual sex or what some might call their “hoeing experience.”
Naturally, the idea of casual sex is very present on college campuses. This phenomenon might seem native to bigger schools with larger student bodies, but you’d be mistaken. Hooking up isn’t a school regulated extracurricular activity. Its frequency depends on the primal sex drive of the individuals no matter what size the school happens to be.
Hooking up at college for me has always been a thrill-seeking experience. Though I’m all for new experiences, rule-breaking and new intimate interactions, the unspoken consequences that might arise if caught are usually brushed away.
Regardless of what one goes through within a session of impure instinct-driven sex, there are a few potential benefits that might make it worthwhile — alleviating stress, increasing libido and significantly better sleep. However, indulging introduces the potential risks — catching sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies or even the plain old awkwardness of it all.
There will always be an inner anarchist trying to convince you to break those deeply embedded societal norms. Don’t mute that authority but absolutely don’t force it.
I think no-strings-attached sexual encounters should be experienced by the unchaste majority and the curious-chaste minority in order to normalize the discussion of the unrealistic and absurd occurrences that go on. Regardless of your commitment to such acts, an overarching societal judgment might shy you away, but as long as you’re in the game give it your best shot!
The world today has an array of problems that people trap themselves in — like drugs, blackmail or abuse. Keeping these realities in mind, I strongly support and highly recommend casual sex because we’ve only got the present to create memories.
In order to cultivate vivid episodic memories, we need to aim for the stars while settling by the shore — experiencing the best life has to offer and acknowledging its limitations. Woody Allen once commented, “Sex without love is a meaningless experience, but as far as meaningless experiences go it’s pretty damn good.” Stay slutty and stay safe.
