"Hook-Up" Culture--a lesson in love and sex.

Jack Grimes makes it apparent in his article, “Hook-Up Culture,” that there needs to be a revolution in the way we interact with one another intimately. While hooking-up may temporarily satisfy a carnal desire, ultimately Grimes makes the argument that sex and love are one in the same. To detach the two is to deny the fact that hooking up is both physical and emotional—it is, according to Grimes, “a lively and animated (partner) for you and (for the moment at least) you alone.”

Grimes uses Damer’s principles of a ‘good argument’ in several ways and succeeds in presenting clear and straight-forward claims as to why this pervasive culture among college students needs to mellow. However, there are numerous fallacies and claims open for interpretation. One of his claims relevant to his overall argument centers around the notion that physical pleasure cannot exist as an island. This is to say physical pleasure is attached to something deeper. He makes a profound statement, declaring “The body and soul are one.” Thus, he argues that the sexual encounter—regardless of context (even if it is a mere hook-up)—carries with it an emotional connotation. Later in the piece, he justifies dating by indicating an innate human desire to achieve emotional connectedness with another individual. Hooking-up, says Grimes, does not satisfy this.

The argument and his subsequent claims leaves plenty of room for rebuttal. It even seems as if he himself is uncertain about the situation, though this can be perceived as sarcasm in order to further his point. Grimes does, however, make it a point to include reasons as to why individuals do participate in the hooking-up culture.

One of the more interesting claims surrounded this culture and women. At one point he equates hooking-up by women “as, in essence, and unpaid prostitute.” He mentions that in many circles hooking-up has become a means of empowerment, to which he responds; “A woman who embraces the hook-up culture is simply making it easier for guys to treat her as a sex object.” There seems to be fallacy in his reasoning. This claim appears to come off as an overgeneralization in which the female is judged differently then the male.

Another large fallacy in Grimes argument is an appeal to common opinion. Grimes makes large, sweeping claims in which he assumes readers are on the same page when it comes to things such as gender roles (as witnessed in above paragraph). This article is very much male-dominated in experience and argument which in itself is a fallacy.

Overall, on a more personal note, I would have to agree with Grimes. Hooking-up, while it may satisfy the carnality of our human nature, does not achieve what really matters—the inevitable desire for something more, something emotional, something like love. He states, “trying to find intimate fulfillment by hooking-up is like trying to dig your way out of a hole in the ground.” Exactly. The fact of the matter is, while hooking-up may have its time and place, the larger picture indicates an inherent human desire to achieve a fusion of both love and sex.