Practices
Single encounters
A one-night stand is a single sexual encounter between individuals, where at least one of the parties has no immediate intention or expectation of establishing a longer-term sexual or romantic relationship. Anonymous sex is a form of one-night stand or casual sex between people who have very little or no history with each other, often engaging in sexual activity on the same day of their meeting and usually never seeing each other again afterwards.Social sex
The terms ''friends with benefits'' and ''booty call'' describe situations in which a person has sex with someone they generally consider a friend or someone they are fairly close to. They are not in an exclusive romantic relationship. The involved parties may have a degree of emotional attachment but do not want, for whatever reason, to have "strings attached". A 2011 study, published in ''The Journal of Sex Research'', found that two out of five single women and one out of five single men in "friends with benefits" relationships hoped that their relationship would eventually turn into a full-fledged romance. This stands in contrast to swinger couples who are already in long-term relationships and are only seeking compatible friends with whom they can engage in recreational sex. Recreational sex can take place in an open marriage,Jenks, R. (2001). ''The Lifestyle: A Look at the Erotic Rites of Swingers'', by Terry Gould. Journal of Sex Research, 38,171–173. among swingers (where sex is viewed as a social occasion), or in an open relationship.Hooking up
A "hookup" ( colloquialSwinging
Swingers engage in casual sex with others for a variety of reasons. For many, an advantage is the increased quality, quantity and frequency of sex. Some swingers engage in casual sex to add variety to their otherwise conventional sex lives or for curiosity. Swingers who engage in casual sex maintain that sex among swingers is often more deliberative and therefore more honest than infidelity. Some couples see swinging as a healthy outlet and a means to strengthen their relationship. Others regard such activities as merely social and recreational interaction with others. A swinger party or partner-swapping party is a gathering at which individuals or couples in a committed relationship can engage in sexual activities with others as a recreational or social activity. Swinging can take place in various contexts, ranging from a spontaneous sexual activity at an informal social gathering of friends to a regular social gathering in a sex club (or swinger club), private residence, or other pre-arranged location such as a hotel, a resort, or a cruise ship.History
1920s
As automobile ownership boomed along with the number of options for dating venues, such as movie theaters and jazz halls, parental involvement in the courtship process began to decrease. Casual encounters became a more common occurrence in the teen and young adult dating experience. Religious and moralist views from the preceding decades also led to public outcry in communities and in the press, and a questioning of what was perceived as changing standards in morality among the younger generation. Some historians suggest that sexual liberation in the 1920s was largely the product of cultural changes and evolving gender roles. More young women sought to enter college and the workplace; many left parental homes and bad marriages behind and sought independence. The automobile was more of a new, convenient means to enable coupling than a causal phenomenon. Also, young adults of the 1920s considered Victorian-era sexual and moral codes to be oppressive; Bohemianism continued to influence and be embraced by this generation following WWI, and the liberated flapper and vamp emerged as lifestyle personas in popular culture. In the United States, " petting parties", in which petting ("making out" or foreplay) was the main attraction, became a part of the flapper lifestyle. The emerging movie industry, through the Pre-Code Hollywood era, furthered the rebellion against Victorian-era morals as films started depicting women owning their sexuality. Current cinema from the 1960s onward has continued this trend.Sexual revolution
During the sexual revolution in the United States and Europe during the 1960s and 1970s, social attitudes to sexual issues underwent considerable changes. The advent of "the pill" and other forms ofContemporary
In the United States, one-time sexual encounters among college-aged students are growing increasingly common; nearly 70% of people in that age group have partaken in casual sex at least once because of their newfound adult identities and freedom to explore their sexualities. Data from 2007 to 2017 indicates that there has been a decline in casual sex among young adults. A 2021 study attributed the decline to reduced alcohol consumption, increased video gaming, and a larger share of young adults living with their parents.Prevalence and norms
A study in 2019 found that 23% to 33% of women surveyed dated men for a free meal termed "foodie call".Colleges
Research suggests that as many as two thirds to three quarters of American students have casual sex at least once during college. On college campuses, casual sex may occur almost anywhere. The majority of hookups happen at parties. Other common casual sex venues are dorms, frat houses, bars, dance clubs, cars, and public places or wherever is available at the time. Collegiate holidays and vacations, especially spring breaks, are times that undergraduates are more likely to purposely seek out casual sexual encounters and experiment with risky behaviors. This is due to the availability of alcohol and uninhibitedness of spring break venues. One study reported that about 30% of collegiate spring breakers, whether they are in a monogamous relationship or not, have penetrative sex with a person they meet during their break. A 1995 study of Canadian students who had traveled to Florida for"Hookup" norms
Men and women are found to engage in very similar casual sex conducts, despite popular social beliefs. Most young adults in this age group believe that their peers are having a higher frequency of casual sex than they actually are, and this is due to vocabulary choice. For example, using the term "hookup" denotes that the sexual activity, whether it is vaginal sex, oral sex, or manual sex, is casual and between unfamiliar partners. However, it is vague and does not detail what specific sexual activities occurred. This is especially distorting towards others' impressions because 98% of college hookups involve kissing, 81% of hookups involve more than kissing, and only 34% of hookups involve penetrative sex. Studies have also linked this common misperception of peer hookup activity to media and pop culture portrayals of casual sexual encounters. Television and movies project distorted depictions of casual sex because they also commonly portray people who have just hooked up as emotionally satisfied and physically pleasured while simultaneously emotionally detached, which is not always the case. According to a 2004 peer-reviewed study published in the '' Journal of Marriage and Family'' found that women who have more than one premarital sexual relationship have a higher likelihood in the long run of disruptions if ever married, with this effect being the "strongest for women who have multiple premarital coresidential unions". Kahn and London (1991) found that premarital sex and divorce are positively correlated.Gender differences
Legal and religious issues
Attitudes to casual sex range fromLegal
The legality of adultery andReligious views
Many religions disapprove of sex outside marriage (see religion and sexuality), and the consequences range from very serious to none. Also, marriage is defined in quite different ways in different cultures, for example, with "short-term marriage" (see Nikah mut'ah). Although some religious views look upon casual sex negatively, individual views on casual sex vary based on personal traits such as autonomy. Religious people and non-religious people mostly have similar feelings when it comes to having casual sex, with a bigger difference in attitude taking place between men and women.Commercial sites
Many specialist online dating services or other websites, known as "adult personals" or "adult matching" sites, cater to people looking for a purely sexual relationship without emotional attachments. These can provide a relatively anonymous forum where people who are geographically close but in totally separate work and social circles can make contact.See also
* Back-up partner * Cottaging * Dogging * Group sex * Promiscuity * Sociosexuality * Treating (dating)References
Bibliography
* Ehrenreich, Barbara, Elizabeth Hess, and Gloria Jacobs. ''Re-Making Love: The Feminization of Sex''. Doubleday, 1986 () {{Human sexuality