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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Hookup culture not a gender issue: Women want it, too
Book dispels myth females are 'victims'
Women aren't shy about hooking up. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
NEW YORK -- Hanna Rosin's new book The End of Men: And the Rise of Women is coming out next month, and the Atlantic is previewing it in its September issue with Rosin's piece about the so-called hookup culture that has conservatives in a decade-long huff and much of the media in a sex panic.
The typical assumption about hookup culture is that it's something men imposed on women, exploiting modern contraceptives and sexual liberty to get away with having sex with women without having to commit or do anything icky, such as pretend to like them.
The narrative has always sat uneasily with me, as it's based on the presumption women are so foul men will only put up with them to get sex.
So, I was stoked to discover Rosin's research led her to conclude women aren't being victimized by delusions of feminism and the men taking advantage of them. On the contrary, Rosin believes women perpetuate the hook-up culture. Young women want romance in theory but find in practice, relationships are more trouble than they're worth.
The women described boyfriends as "too greedy" and relationships as "too involved." One woman "with no shortage of admirers" explained, "I know this sounds really pathetic and you probably think I am lying, but there are so many other things going on right now that it's really not something high up on my list. I know that's such a lame excuse, but it's true."
The women wanted to study or hang out with friends or just be "100 per cent selfish," as one said. "I have the rest of my life to devote to a husband or kids or my job."
Some even purposely had what one might think of as fake boyfriends, whom they considered sub-marriage quality and weren't genuinely attached to.
"He fits my needs now because I don't want to get married now," one said. "I don't want anyone else to influence what I do after I graduate."
In other words, young women believe maintaining a boyfriend is so much work it's impossible to have one while simultaneously building a career and a non-romantic social life -- and that the latter two are higher priorities.
Which suggests all the people who are so upset about hookup culture are attacking it from the wrong angle. Instead of scolding women for their self-defeating bed-hopping, they should be scolding men. If men demand so much time and attention from girlfriends that those girlfriends can't have a life outside of the relationship, that suggests men are asking way too much of women. So needy!
If you want women to be more interested in long-term commitment, the best place to start is with fixing men. Men need to learn to be a value-add to the lives of their girlfriends instead of a burden. Traditionally, women are expected to spend a great deal of time on their men with tasks such as ego-stroking, cleaning up after them and plan-making.
If men could come to relationships with fewer demands, women would be more interested. After all, as Rosin notes, women do want the benefits of long-term love. They just don't want the price to be higher than the rewards.
-- Slate
Amanda Marcotte is a journalist, opinion writer and author of two books on progressive politics.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 25, 2012 A16
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