Why do girls hook up ?
Although many consider it a euphemism for sex — or at least oral sex — the term is deliberately ambiguous; some say just kissing qualifies. But because hooking up does not happen in the context of a relationship, Unhooked author Laura Sessions Stepp says, she’s concerned. Her book argues that hookups in high school and college may hinder long-term love. Those who study young people’s sexual behavior say it’s too soon to know whether her cautionary tale of emotionally distant and commitment-phobic young people will prove true; it’s a new area of research, and no long-term studies have been done. Much less is known about the high school scene, because parental permission is required to study children under 18. New research is focused on college, where the findings portray young people as less inclined to the one-night stand and more likely toward “friends with benefits.” Researchers say hookups evolved out of the free-love and casual-sex days of the ’60s and ’70s, the rise of women’s rig
