Dating and Mating

The article titled, “After the Sexual Revolution: Gender Politics in Teen Dating” written by Barbara Risman and Pepper Schwartz gave insight to sexual tendencies among teens. The first point the authors make is that intercourse among 15-17 year olds is in decline when compared to 1991. There is a lot of speculation that the media sells sex to teens and that teens are responding but research has shown us that this is not the case. Risman and Schwartz discuss that this decline is the result of the success of abstinence education as well as better and more informative sexual education courses.
Another interesting fact Risman and Schwartz point out is that even among teens that are not sexually active, 1/3 of the group has used the method of masturbation. To reiterate, these trends as explained by Risman and Schwartz are a result of better sexual education. These studies are proof that even though the media is constantly pushing sex and promoting it to a younger generation, it does not have the effect it hopes to.
The second article I read was titled, “The Decline of the Date and the Rise of the College Hook Up,” written by Paula England and Thomas Reuben. The behavior among college students today is very different from last generation. Today, men and women are engaging in sexual acts before considering a relationship. A study was conducted among 615 students and then asked about the term ‘dating’, responses referred to “the activities of couples who have already decided that they are in an exclusive romantic relationship (pg.152).” When thinking about the romantic side of men and women, another interesting fact was stated. “21% of the men and 32% of the women hadn’t been on any dates (pg.152).”
When separating men from women and looking at how each gender behaves and reacts, particularly when making relationships ‘official’, there were some very fascinating statements. “Students told us these talks are often initiated after several hook ups by the woman who wants to know where the stands with the guy. Guys then can agree that they are in a relationship or say that they don’t want to go beyond hooking up – we heard quite a few report of the latter happening (pg.155).” Girls tend to be more romantic and often want a relationship. Something important to point out is cultural changes because it has changes how women’s behavior is seen. The idea of the ‘double standard’ is discussed and explains that women receive a bad reputation when being known as being sexual often while men receive credit and status. “Gender differences in relational orientation may also reflect differences how much women have been socialized to have skills at intimate relationships. Whatever the source, if women want relationship more than men, it puts men in a stronger bargaining position about starting relationships (pg.160).”
When I reflect on my high school and college experience, a lot of what the authors discusses hits close to home. Particularly in college, the way dating is perceived and how men and women ‘hook up’ is what a lot of the college social scene is like. Although this may seem to be a bad thing, because I have not lived in a time where it was any different, I do not see a problem with it. However, with women having a double standard and coming from a traditional family, I do wish more men and women would go on a ‘date’. It is as if we have reversed the process. I was not surprised what the author’s discovered and I feel it is an accurate description of what men and women do today.