Ruth Institute Blog

by  Nathaniel Peters

Donna Freitas’s new book on the hookup culture rightly encourages students to see its harms, but fails to give them moral reasons for opting out of it.

College life has long been seen as a kind of debauch: “To understand all is to forgive all,” an intoxicated Etonian tells Charles Ryder in Brideshead Revisited, and in Animal House John Belushi’s monosyllables echo agreement. Yet these days, something new is taking place. Scholars and journalists offer their takes on the hookup culture: the deflowering of American youth that takes place every weekend (and many weeknights) on university campuses. Read more…

Unsubstantiated accusations against my son by a former girlfriend landed him before a nightmarish college tribunal.

By JUDITH E. GROSSMAN

I am a feminist. I have marched at the barricades, subscribed to Ms. magazine, and knocked on many a door in support of progressive candidates committed to women’s rights. Until a month ago, I would have expressed unqualified support for Title IX and for the Violence Against Women Act.

But that was before my son, a senior at a small liberal-arts college in New England, was charged—by an ex-girlfriend—with alleged acts of “nonconsensual sex” that supposedly occurred during the course of their relationship a few years earlier. Read more…

by Barbara Ray

One in two mothers in America is now having a baby then marrying later, if at all.

A profound shift is happening in America. Somewhere around 2000, the country quietly reached a tipping point: women, in a trend driven largely by “middle-American” women, collectively began putting the baby carriage before marriage.

In fact, for women on the whole, the age of first birth is now 25.7 while the age at first marriage is 26.5.

Let that sink in a moment. Read more…

by Ashley Crouch

Ever since US Weekly printed the front page story, “The Virgin Bachelor,” which described Sean Lowe’s born-again virginity and commitment to wait until his marriage night to have sex, there has been no shortage of conversation percolating throughout the blogosphere. Read more…

by Katie Hinderer

Last week as I happily went through another Valentine’s Day single – and not the I hate the celebration and want to be all anti type of single – I couldn’t help but cringe at the way this holiday has morphed over the years. Yes, it is still about the cards, candy and flowers. But it is also an excuse to be permissive, to drink too much, to hook up with strangers to drown out the pervasive loneliness. It’s overwhelming and disheartening at times. Read more…

by Katie Pavlich

Well, this is disturbing. “Incest Fest” will be held at the Kirkland Hall this year at Harvard University. What’s incest fest? Exactly what it sounds like.

Incest-Fest is, essentially, a campus party where making out and hooking up with as many people as possible is the goal. It gets the “incest” name because the event is open only to residents of Kirkland house–one of Harvard’s undergraduate residences. Thus, students who are living together (as if they were members of the same family, get it?? Incest? So funny, right?) are having sex with one another. Read more…

Posted by Leslie Eastman

We recently posted a piece, “An Argument Against Hook-Up Culture at Princeton,” which presented writer James Clark’s assertions that “objectification” of men and women is corrosive to the development of meaningful personal relationships. Read more…

by Monica Gabriel and Kara Eschbach

Are “boys on the side” really the answer to young women’s career ambitions?

In case you haven’t noticed, 2012 has been declared The Year of the Women in the United States. Everyone wants to talk about women: Democrats at their National Convention; shocked multitudes following Rep. Todd Akin’s outrageous statements about women and rape; leading columnists debating options for a pregnant Marissa Meyer after her being named CEO of Yahoo! It seems that every time we open a newspaper, turn on the TV, or surf the internet, there is a feverish conversation around who women are and what is and is not good for us. Read more…

by Dale O’Leary

A professional body tackles the issue of the sexualisation of girls but fails miserably to diagnose the cause.

No-one would guess it from even a passing acquaintance with popular television shows, but there is increasing concern among parent and professional groups about the sexualisation of girls. Responding to this concern the American Psychological Association appointed a taskforce to study the problem in 2006. The resulting report shines a light on a real problem, but it fails to offer a workable solution. It is undeniable that the media and culture present girls with a sexualized image of their value and appeal. However, seeing the problem does not necessarily mean that one understands the cause, and without understanding the cause it is highly unlikely that one can prescribe the correct remedy. Read more…