Few members of my senior class will ever forget one of the most public hook-ups to ever be witnessed throughout my four years of high school.
The image of my best friend brazenly making out with a stranger will forever be burned into my head.
No, they were not quietly caressing one another in a corner, or sneaking off into someone’s parents’ room.
Instead, they had collapsed on top of one another in the middle of the kitchen, and were rolling around on the linoleum like it was their duty to mankind.
There was even some face-licking involved. I kid you not.
I knew the guy my friend was “getting acquainted with,” but I was fairly sure they had never been introduced — until then anyway. Everyone else appeared to be just as confused as they relentlessly tried to tear their eyes away from the tongue-on-tongue train wreck.
After much teasing and belittling the following week, the pair, that would otherwise be considered strangers, began to date.
What followed was decidedly one of the messiest relationships in the entire school, but a relationship all the same.
Though this incident is a memorable one for me (and hopefully my friend), this manner of beginning a relationship is becoming increasingly common.
Relationships often begin with an unplanned sexual encounter, a similarly “casual” situation, or as “friends-with-benefits,” before turning into more.
“I believe that people hook-up before being in a relationship,” said freshman Andy Bushnell. “It’s a change of times. People just don’t want to be as serious.”
If you frequent clubs or bars around UT, you more than likely witness these beginnings every time you go out.
While some are lucky enough to get something functional out of an otherwise non-committal beginning, others are stuck with the mess that accompanies a relationship formed out of little else than obligation.
Close male friends of mine have admitted to dating a girl after they hooked-up solely because they felt they had to or that they owed it to the girl.
“Yeah, I guess you feel obligated, “said freshman Gilberto Fagoaga. “Especially if you want to hook up again,” he added with a grin.
But ladies are also guilty. Men aren’t the only ones who nurture a “hit it and quit it” philosophy these days.
“Sometimes you want to see if it will be more,” said freshman Jorgia Stone. “But sometimes you just don’t. I’ll stay friends, but I’ll make it clear that it won’t go further.”
The realization of this change in relationship tendencies is becoming so widely accepted that many refer to the phenomenon as “the hook-up culture” or the “hook-up generation.”
It is a little sad that our generation is being defined by an increase in promiscuity. But, looking around, you see it everywhere.
Television is filled with high-school and college-themed shows that revolve around “so-and-so” sleeping with “so-and-so’s” boyfriend, while secretly hooking up with the president of the abstinence club (just as an example).
But the reality of this idea is not quite as skanky as many shows — even Glee — make it seem.
When our grandparents were dating, they “wooed” each other. There was a process that came along with finding someone: asking permission, meeting the parents, exchanging the eldest daughter for a goat, etc. But even then, there was still scandalous behavior. It was just not nearly as prominent or accepted — such people were “floozies,” (a word that I personally think needs to be brought back into style).
The methods of courtship in our present hook-up culture are deemed wrong and immoral by many. At the least, I think we can all agree that they are not conventional.
Cinderella and Prince Charming didn’t “get busy” in the back of the castle before the ball. It might seem backward, but hooking up is still a part of getting to know someone. The physical part of a relationship is essential for success.
Anyone who says otherwise can’t be getting anything good. Some just like to get to “that part” sooner rather than later.
Another big part of getting physical faster has to do with the popular idea amongst youth that serious relationships are unnecessary, even a waste of time during this time in their life. They would rather “just have fun,” but a night of fun can easily lead to real feelings.
A relationship forms almost naturally.
It will be interesting to see exactly how far this goes or what the trend may morph into. I’m getting increasingly used to seeing neighbors bring home different strangers on the weekends.
But at the same time, I often get lectured based on what my parents were doing in their college days.
Maybe it’s not so much a rise in the trend, but an increase in how much we talk about it.
Hannah Webster can be reached at hannahkarine31@gmail.com.