Many people just naturally assume that most college students, at least of the male persuasion, try to hook-up with as many of their fellow students as possible while at school. And while this may or may not be true, new research shows that contrary to popular opinion, students generally look unfavorably at other students, both male and female, who hook-up (engage in indiscriminate sex) too much. In a new paper published by the American Sociological Association, researchers describe what they’ve learned via surveys given to some nineteen thousand students last year. The results, say Inside Higher Ed, show that despite a long history and reputation as a sexual playground, America’s youth still hold some degree of judgment for those that indulge too heavily.
In the survey, which included students at twenty two different colleges, students were asked a whole list of questions pertaining to both their own sex life, and of those of their peers. After analyzing the results, the researchers found that almost half of all those surveyed said they held negative views of their peers who hooked-up too much. In the study, there was no clearly defined definition of what “too much” means, thus it was left to those responding to the surveys.
The researchers also found, Inside Higher Ed, says, that despite the widespread belief that most people feel it’s okay for men to sleep around but not women, the answers on the surveys showed the opposite. The majority of both sexes reported negative feelings towards members of either gender who they thought slept around too much. Also, not surprisingly, the researchers found that those who aligned themselves with more conservative beliefs tended to see those who hooked-up a lot in a bad light, again, regardless of gender.
The one major areas where the researchers saw differences in the survey was in how those that responded represented themsvles. Some ten percent more of the females responding to the survey identified themselves as conservative, compared to males answering the survey. The researchers also reported that more women responded to the survey as well, but didn’t give numbers, but that result wasn’t surprising as there are now more women attending college than men, and women, historically have shown more willingness to answer surveys.
Another grey area in the study revealed that some groups appeared to get a pass on judgment from most of their peers; Greeks (those in fraternities or sororities) and athletes. When asked about how they felt about people from both groups hooking up a lot, most seemed to see it as expected and thus judged them less harshly for their sexual activities.
