I Do Not Hook Up

NPR is weighing in on dating this week. Studies show that we as twenty-somethings are not dating, but rather are hooking up. The availability of casual encounters are much higher for our generation with co-ed dorm rooms, the pervasiveness of Craigslist, and a focus on career and socialization rather than settling down.

My response was…”And?”

Actually, NPR tried to withhold judgment….kind of. They tried to take the high road of “sociological observer” rather than critic. The piece still comes across as “sex bad, marriage good” in the end and that the casual sexual encounter is devoid of emotion, feeling, or care for your partner.

Our own first lady of American Idol, Kelly Clarkson,  has a song on the charts now proclaiming “I Do Not Hook Up.” Ironically co-written by Katy Perry of “I Kissed a Girl” fame, the chorus tells us:

Oh, no, I do not hook up, up, I go slow
So if you want me, I don’t come cheap
Keep your hand in my hand, your heart on your sleeve
Oh, no, I do not hook up, up, I fall deep
‘Cause the more that you try the harder I’ll fight
To say goodnight

I prefer the Rollergirl anthem of Brand New Key that totes:

I ride my bike, I roller skate, don’t drive no car
Don’t go too fast, but I go pretty far
For somebody who don’t drive
I been all around the world
Some people say, I done all right for a girl.

The tide may be turning where the hook up is no longer regarded as a seedy event in which only loose women and studly men partake. Even if Kelly Clarkson and NPR don’t approve.

For full NPR hooking up info:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105008712