Lots of books and articles exist saying that hookup culture is exploitative for women, but Rosin plays devil's advocate and says that it is actually a sign of women's empowerment and liberation. Instead of getting caught up in relationships, she says they are focusing on careers and other life priorities, keeping "boys on the side" and indulging in only light or superficial sexual relationships so they don't get distracted while in college.
I have serious problems with the argument Rosin presents. First of all, she claims that sexual assaults and rape rates have dropped but quotes no figures to back up her claims. The makers of Miss Representation, on the other hand, say that 25% of all American women have been victim of a sexual assault, which contradicts Rosin's claim.
Second, Rosin says that the hookup culture represents the empowerment of young women. All it really represents is that women are learning to disconnect sexual intimacy from other parts of their lives; to put it in a box and only take it out when it is convenient or desirable by them. This goes against everything we know about sexuality. It is a force that cannot be contained. That's why the entire planet, and the future of all species, depends on sex. This is an actual diminishing of what it means to be human, because sex represents not just empowerment but also vulnerability. You need both aspects to build a powerful intimate relationship - as they are two sides of the same coin. To deny being vulnerable is to deny being human.
Finally, I think that the hookup culture is just another terrible offshoot of the consumerist American culture that seems to have gripped the country in the last ten or fifteen years. Don't like your sex partner? Drop him and pick up another one the next night. Rinse and repeat until you get married or tired, whichever comes first. But people and their feelings about sex and intimacy should not be treated as disposable objects, to be picked up and dropped at will. Women have been complaining about being treated like this by men for centuries. Instead of the men changing, the women are adapting to become just like them. This is not a change for the better.
I'm not saying that it's the biological prerogative of men to spread their seed far and wide while a woman should have only one partner because she is the one who has the babies - that argument isn't really valid in a modern society where women have access to birth control. And I think that sexual experimentation has always been going on in college environments - anytime you get young people away from their parents and give them freedom, they're going to have sex, and that's healthy and normal (I'm not discussing any religious or moralistic ramifications here). But to do it like this, to expose yourself to sexually transmitted diseases, and to become used to hookups makes us less like human beings with feelings and emotions and bodies that need to be respected and cherished and more like Niesztchean Supermen/Superwomen with sexual parts attached.
All in all, I don't buy Rosin's argument. Certainly young women should own their sexuality, and they should be in control of it, rather than allowing men's approval to dictate what they do with their bodies. But I'm reminded of bell hooks's argument about patriarchy, that it's something that hurts both men and women. The hookup culture does the same thing. It reduces a very powerful energy - the sexual - to a its very basest level. For humanity to flourish, we need to connect on all levels - spiritual, emotional, mental, sexual. This is very much a step in the wrong direction.
Source: http://binashah.blogspot.com/2012/09/boys-on-side-hanna-rosin.html
Carly Rae Jepsen Opening ceremony London 2012 dancing with the stars Google Fiber Olympics Schedule 2012 Olympic Medal Count 2012 Olympics 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.