Jack Grimes: "Hook-Up Culture"

In this article, Grimes argues that dating has been replaced on college campuses by this idea of a "hook-up culture." He says students care more about physical contact than actually having an emotional connection with someone else -- that love has taken a backseat to sex. Grimes fails to address the relevance rule because he provides no actual data or testimony to support his claims. However, Grimes does address the acceptability rule by using language that both the speaker (Grimes) and his audience (fellow Tufts students) agree upon. Rather than making a vague argument, Grimes is specific; he begins by defining "hooking up" rather than leaving a definition up to the audience. The third rule is sufficiency. Grimes fails to adequately address this rule, because his article is based on personal opinon rather than fact. He lacks data to back up his argument in favor of generalizations about college students. Finally, Grimes' article is open to rebuttal. Another student could respond by making the argument that dating still exists, and that hooking up isn't the phenomenon that Grimes makes it out to be.

I agree with Grimes' argument for the most part. Based on my own observations, it seems like dating is pretty rare on today's college campuses. Sure, there's always the rare couple that stays together throughout college, but for the most part it seems like students aren't interested in commitment. They want the physical satisfaction of a relationship without the emotional part. The one thing I had a problem with in Grimes' article is his use of stereotypes about men and women -- that it's okay for men to sleep around, but when women do it it's unacceptable. The author seems to be holding men and women to different standards. According to Grimes, a woman who hooks up is essentially an "unpaid prostitute" that men laugh at and tell others to sleep with. It seems like Grimes is making it the women's job to end this "hook-up culture" in an attempt to improve their reputations.