News coverage of hookup culture continues to get it wrong

(TRIGGER WARNING later on)

We’ve all heard about The New York Times’ you-may-panic-now article about how much of a PHENOMENON hooking up on campus is.

Now, in what can only be an arms race of fail, CNN has joined them with their own terrible article. Let’s count all the things wrong with this. Small things first:

- The almost mind-boggling use of "coed." Is this Back to the Future?

- The inexplicable detail of Boyle "shaking her blond ponytail." It’s either random or subtle sexualization, and I still can’t decide which.

- The lazy trend-framing of Lady Gaga’s publicity announcement of being "celibate" and Kelly Clarkson’s song [sic] "I Don’t Hook Up" (actually supposed to be a Katy Perry song but kicked off her album when her manager didn’t want it), as if two independently acting celebrities are supposed to represent a Movement. By the way? That song is two years old .

- The requisite Urban Dictionary consultations to titillate middle-aged readers (some of their only readers, in fact) with the slang the kids used, leading to such delightful paragraphs as:

"Boyle explained the warm weather compels some students to engage in "day fratting," imbibing for hours in the front yard of a fraternity. Day fratting can result in "afternoon delight," noncommittal physical activity between two people that can include casual sex."

- References to "various studies" without reference to what they are, who conducted them, and/or links to them so people can evaluate their scientific credibility.

- The opposing view being almost utterly absent except in one sentence buried within the article: "Some students can engage in no-strings relationships without suffering emotional trauma." In an ideal world, this would be followed by "said Captain Obvious."

- Kathleen Bogle.

And, most importantly:

- The lip service paid to "college men and women" who are saying no juxtaposed with the utter and complete absence of any guys who are saying no . It’s not as if it’s hard to find young men on a college campus. says they’re  Kind of reveals what this article is really about, don’t you think? This isn’t a trend story after all; it’s an attagirl article for girls who aren’t having sex.

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(TRIGGER WARNING from here on down.)

If news outlets really wanted to write something good about hookup culture, they’d write about how See, I’m actually not a defender of hookup culture. I’m just as much against it as any hand-waving freakouter, but for different reasons. The problem isn’t that it makes women have casual sex. The problem is that it’s a misogynist wasteland constructed on mean-spirited and sexist principles.

And don’t just take it on me; let the participants speak for itself. Here are some actual comments about various girls from a Vanderbilt discussion board (once again, trigger warning, but the actual words need to speak for themselves so people can get an idea about just what goes into hookup culture and how far it goes):

"She’s out of her mind. She has no respect for herself, and would be better off in a place where an entire frat has had sex with her."

"[name] is such a whore. she fucks anything and evertyhing. get some class you fat ****"

"She’s an embarrassment to everyone at Vanderbilt. I would be beyond ashamed if a sorry ass guy from my frat invited that whore to anything let alone a formal. If you want to use her as a joke fine. Have fun getting yourself fucked up by that ugly bitch."

"Every time this girl opens her mouth I have the overwhelming urge to pull down my pants, whip out my **** and gag her with my **** so she shuts the fuck up. A fine example of yet another pretty vandy girl ruined by her personality."

And even from the CNN article itself:

"I give her three month and she’ll be back on the wagon with her legs spread wide open. And that’s how we like them." -Anchises68

"A girl who is not a tramp is news….what a wonderful world." -JeremiahD

"Frannie looks like she’s got a little freaky side to her." -chadishere

"nice. poor girl can now be known as an ex-whore. Way to be on the news!" -WacosSon

I’m not cherry-picking here either. It is all over.

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Sure, there are people defending these girls, but it almost always is along the lines of "That’s not true. You’re lying." Which isn’t the point. The point is that THESE are the attitudes that pervade hookup culture. It isn’t just casual sex. Casual sex is fine. But the way our society handles sex is completely, utterly broken and will require serious, serious thought (ooh, scary… thought!), action and cultural overhaul to fix.

But who wants to think about that heavy stuff when we’ve got more hookup trend articles to write to goose our pageviews?