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Essay / Analysis by Laura Vanderkam “Hookups Starve the Soul”
Hookups are a revolution within the female community because it’s no longer just men who are the “one and done” type, “ without any conditions.” The gender roles that were so prevalent in American culture are no longer subject to the strict boundaries and guidelines of yesteryear. What was once a woman living to please a man has become a woman who no longer needs a man to approach her, but rather a woman who takes initiative. Being assertive is considered a man's job, but when it comes to romantic relationships, a woman can be assertive in what she wants to do and who she wants to do those things with. Moving beyond the assigned gender role is also where I see society having the most problems accepting hookup culture. Men are especially surprised when a woman displays her sexual freedom, because that's what men are supposed to do, while women are supposed to be delicate flowers. The mind-blowing thing is that heteronormative men expect to have casual sex as they please, but they still expect women to not be touched by others and for those women to lend their bodies for man.