Everyone is different, and the world would be mad boring if this weren't the case. And yet, our cultural perception of sexuality has yet to embrace the beauty of such differences. Could a new study help change that?
Recent research has revealed that (SURPRISE!) college students who were open to casual sex were happier when they hit it and quit it than those not interested in such sex to begin with. Consider our minds blown.
No, Duh?
So why did this ridiculously obvious conjecture have to be researched in the first place? In short, past studies have attempted to claim that casual sex makes all people sad. Granted, orgasms infuse our brains with a potion of crazy hormones that can lead to feelings of attachment, and some people crave love and exclusivity based on this. Others? Well, we're ever-complex beasts of carnal desire who choose to interpret these feelings differently.
I'll use myself as an example, because who do I know better? (Plus, Samantha Jones is fictional.) Serial dating and FWB's kind of rock my world. I can say, with 100% certainty, that I care immensely about men I've had casual encounters with. But am I belting out Mariah Carey and planning our future wedding? Hell. No. (Though some of my past bedroom partners would look uh-mazing in a tux.)
Yet, if one of them contacted me at 3 AM in a moment of distress to say, "I really need a friend right now," I'd be up, dressed and ready to assist in seconds. Sex creates a bond—even if it doesn't end in a long-term, exclusive relationship.
Casual Sex Judgments
Why is this casual sex-loving mentality so hard for people to grasp? Interestingly, the study additionally found that most of the students who enjoyed no-strings-attached sex were also "extroverted," "impulsive," "sensation seeking" and had likely cheated on a past lover. Which raises an interesting question: are people not prone to monogamous relationships joining them simply because they feel they should? Of course, lying is bad—but what if, instead of casual sex-seekers cheating on their partners, it was socially acceptable for them to say, "Hey, monogamy is hard for me. Can we talk about this?"
The bottom line? Casual sex and genuine human emotion aren't mutually exclusive. Perhaps if we learn to accept this, fewer hearts will be broken—and the casual sex-ers among us will be free to love as we please.
Image: You down? Courtesy of, ThinkStock
