"New" Sex Culture?

In the past week I’ve been doing more research to try to answer my question about the sex culture of today. When I first started, my question was: why is there an obsession with sex in our culture today and how is it affecting young people.  As I looked into it more I’ve started to question whether there even is a so called obsession. Is there an obsession with sex in our culture or are we led to believe that by pop culture media? What does this mean for sex education? I still need to refine my research question but that’s roughly the direction I’m going on the issue.

We are considered part of the “hook up culture”. The implication is that people now are more inclined to participate in sexual activities, or anything related to it, even something as simple as  kissing, without an expectation of a relationship or any kind of commitment in the future. With this “new” method, traditional dating and romance is in danger of being extinct. There is also a high risk of getting STDs for participating members and there may be unforeseen emotional consequences, mostly for young girls.

To me, this all sounds very familiar. If we go back in time to the 60’s, we find ourselves in an era of “free love”. Women began to assert their sexual freedom and thus began the hippie movement. Magazines like Cosmopolitan made an entrance into public view and led the way to openly talking about sex. Young people participated in casual sex and this was where STDs really began to affect a big part of the population. Some trends do eventually make their comebacks and I think the same rule applies to sex culture.

I’m not entirely convinced that there is a “big problem” with the “hook up culture”. The problem lies in sex education, or lack thereof. I can’t deny that pop culture media is overly sexual, since I’ve seen it for myself. Songs are getting more explicit, people become famous from their sex scandals, and TV shows like The Jersey Shore existed. However, the fact that young eyes are exposed to this everywhere they look, should spark some serious discussion about educating them on sex.