Sunday, September 28, 2008

Hookup Culture at Duke

In June of 2006, just as the lacrosse scandal was at its height, Rolling Stone published an article calling attention to Duke’s so-called “hookup culture”, describing a scene in which sex is viewed “as a sport, as a way of life, as a source of constant self-scrutiny and self-analysis.”[i] The article portrays Duke as a highly competitive school in which the Greek system and the idea of “effortless perfection” cause such low self esteem in Duke women that they will hook up with just about anyone in order to validate their own social standing. Rolling Stone’s description of the school does not exactly do Duke justice. There are many students who are in relationships or who choose not to participate in the hookup culture or the party scene. Also, the reasons the article gives for why students choose to participate in this “hookup culture” may not be entirely accurate. However, the article does point to a culture that does exist in some capacity at Duke, one in which students engage in sexual relations somewhat freely without the thought of commitment, and one that alcohol and the party scene certainly cater to.

There is no question that Duke has a hookup culture, although it certainly doesn’t define the entire student body, as the Rolling Stone article suggests. There are many possibilities as to why the Duke hookup culture appears to be so prominent, even though it really only involves a small proportion of the student body. First, the size of the Duke undergraduate population is small compared to most universities, and the number of people who party often is even smaller, therefore most people who go to parties tend to know each other. It is not surprising then that this increases the amount of hooking up—it is more likely that people who know each other would go home together, rather than two strangers. Furthermore, these students are some of the most visible on campus, which makes the hookup culture seem more mainstream. Second, it is possible that Duke women view sex differently than women at other schools. Duke women are typically very smart and motivated, and they are likely to go on to pursue their own careers. They may not be at college to find a husband, as is the case with women at many other schools. If women are not looking for a relationship they may be more likely to engage in sexual behavior with men just for fun. Third, low self esteem may also contribute to the Duke hookup culture, though probably not as extremely or as pervasively as the Rolling Stone article suggests. Finally, college students today may be more open to sexual promiscuity than in generations past, and they engage in sex just for fun. This is probably true of most universities, but it certainly makes the hookup culture more shocking to those in older generations.

So is a hookup culture truly unique to Duke? All college campuses have some sort of party scene that involves alcohol and the potential for random hooking up to happen. In comparison to many state schools that have fraternity houses and a large student population, the social scene at Duke may seem tame. What may have been so shocking to the readers of the Rolling Stone article was that students of such a prestigious university would be engaging in these types of sexual activities with what seems to be little regard for dignity or morals. In reality, the behavior of some Duke students probably differs very little from that of students at other universities.



[i] Reitman, Janet, “Sex and Scandal at Duke”, Rolling Stone, 1 June 2006. .

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