Kiss and tell

I was just speaking at Ohio University and found out about a blog on campus that two women started which is designed to be a discussion forum for hook-ups. Students anonymously post their torrid tales of drug and alcohol-infused sexual encounters. As you might imagine, the posts have gotten pretty ugly and incredibly sexist, in part because of the categories, which include descriptors like “coyote ugly.”
This is, as many might remember, akin to Juicy Campus, shut down in February 2009 because of legal issues.
I understand the impulse to create these sites and participate in them. In a culture that stigmatizes hook-ups, especially for women, online sites feel like a safe place to talk about some of what actually goes on in dorm rooms across America. Unfortunately, what could be a safe place to talk frankly about sexual exploration, often ends up replicating a bunch of sexist norms that exist in the off line world already.
In light of the recent controversy surrounding Rachel Simmons’ post on hook-up culture, I’m reminded why these kinds of blogs are so rampant and interesting. We are so hungry to talk out loud about hook up culture–both the sexually empowering parts and the totally sexist parts. We need a space where feminists can really delve into the complexity of this issue, without being labeled, writ large, traitors or female chauvinist pigs. The blog world serves some of that, but it seems like we’re still searching for a more nuanced conversation.
I doubt these juicy campus type blogs are the place to do it, but is there a way to structure such a space that would lead to a real conversation about hook-up culture? Does anyone have experiences of these kinds of sites on their campuses? Is there any liberatory potential or do they all devolve into misogynistic free-for-alls where women’s bodies, reputations, and very worth are ridiculed?
*Don’t miss community poster Maya’s super thoughtful take on hook up culture.