Gender and Hooking Up: From One Night Stands to Catching Feelings

This research examines how college students participate in and construct the meanings of hook ups through a gendered lens. Over a period of nine months, ten in-depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted between Western Washington University and University of Washington. Five men and five women were recruited through convenience and quota sampling. By using the Grounded Theory Method, the findings suggested that gender is a social construction that places unique roles and constrictions upon individuals regarding hooking up practices. The phenomenon of hook up culture is prevalent in college life as a way to experience human intimacy and connection as well as sexual gratification without the necessity of a committed relationship. Gendered variations are manifested in regards to safety, commitment levels, and sexual expression