Casual sex is not unheard of on college campuses today.
Sexual promiscuity, under the wrong conditions, can pose a lot of problems, including STDs and unwanted pregnancies. One of the more overlooked problems is the regret and emotional damage many students experience after having casual sex.
“Women are more likely to experience regrets when it comes to (casual sex),” according to “Hookups and Sexual Regret Among College Women,” an article written in the Journal of Social Psychology in February 2008.
Women tend to conform to the sexual pressure of their social surroundings more than men.
When it comes to casual sex, females tend to feel the pressure of a “put out or get out” atmosphere.
In March 2008, the Journal of Interpersonal Violence printed a study by 12 college professors called “The Red Zone.” The red zone, according to the study, “refers to the first few weeks of the first semester at college, when female students are believed to be at greatest risk for experiencing unwanted sex.”
The U needs to start taking action to help reduce the risk of unwanted sexual experiences for female students.
First, the U administration needs to start making students aware of the sexual red zone. The U should have a campaign to make female students aware of the problem and inform them about the issue. The U can follow the example of Hartwick College in New York, which warns students of the red zone in student handbooks.
Female students need to be more aware of the risk. They need to learn what parties, people and organizations will put them in risky situations.
There is no discussion going on at the U about this problem. There needs to be one. Right now, we’re in the red zone, and the administration can’t afford to wait.
This culture of casual sex on campuses was started to “defy traditional standards,” according to an August 2008 Sex Roles magazine study. Maybe those traditional standards are right after all.
Andrew Cengiz