Sociology

Casual sex which is herein defined as sex for the sheer sake of sex, with no serious relationship, or no strings attached--with at least one person (Sherman, 2004) and promiscuity (sex with multiple partners) has become prevalent in the US. This has in effect attracted widespread attention from both popular and academic literature. Indeed, some scholars believe that casual sex_and particularly short-term mating_is likely to have been a recurrent feature of human evolutionary history that have occasionally generated reproductive benefits for ancestral members of both sexes (Schmitt 2008). But it is in contemporary America that they have been so rampant.

These studies have shown that both men and women engage in short-term mating and promiscuity with glee. Though most studies conducted have since confirmed that men showed a greater willingness than women to engage in casual sex (Surbey  Conohan, 2000 Schmitt. 2008 Jonason, Li and Cason, 2006), the rate of womens willingness has also been going up. It is therefore a foregone conclusion that both women and men have equally indulged in casual sex and promiscuity. For example, Eisenberg et al. (2009) found that one-fifth of the participants reported that their most recent sex partner was a casual partner (i.e., casual acquaintance or close but nonexclusive partner).
Eisenberg et al. (2009), in confirming that casual partnerships were more common among men than among women put at the percentages at 29 vs. 14 for men and women respectively. Eisenberg et al. (2009) also asserted that the proportions of male and female respondents reporting a recent casual partner differed by race or ethnicity.

A report on Oprah.com respondents revealed that 74 of young women adults have had casual sex (Sherman, 2004). Of those, 12 percent have had casual sex with six to ten people and 15 percent with 11 or more (Sherman, 2004). Even more sobering is the revelation that about a quarter of these participants had lost their virginity to a casual sex and that about 14  claim to have had at least one experience of group sex (Sherman, 2004).

That casual sex and promiscuity are in the increase are highlighted by the fact that even adolescents are not so into romantic relationships as was the case before. Although adolescent sexuality is usually examined in the context of romantic relationships, recent attention has also highlighted sexual experiences that occur outside of the context of romantic relationships (Epstein et al. 2009). Epstein et al. (2009) call these relationships are non-relational (Epstein et al. 2009). It is clear from their study that non-relational relationships are highly characterized with casual sex and promiscuity. Epstein et al. (2009) participating in non-relational sexual activity appears to be quite common among adolescents and young adults, with over three fourths of college students reporting having had at least one such encounter.

There are a myriad of reasons behind these tendencies. But from the research I carried out, there are a few prime factors that have attracted most Americans to these tendencies. These reasons are not to be taken as being exclusive andor conclusive for there are many other reasons that compel both men and women to take part in casual sex and promiscuity. It is also worth noting that due to lack of space, I have not narrowed this discussion to gender sensitive factors that induce one to participate in casual sex and the same goes with age variation, like young and the adults, adolescents and teenagers.
Among the factors discussed here are 1)the difficulties associated with maintaining long-term committed relationships the need for more pleasure 2)the realization that sex has some therapeutic benefits based on empirical scientific research 3)that  sex is a way of expressing ones freedom and boosting egos 4) sex for sheer pleasure. In the end I discuss the consequences of these tendencies. Casual sex and promiscuity have had some ill effects on the participants. Chief among the effects is the possibility to contract sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis, Hepatitis, AIDS and many others.  Participants in casual sex and promiscuity have had to also endure some psychological traumas marriage problems.

In this paper I will postulate that indeed there has been an increment in the number of American who gratify casual sex and promiscuity in the US. This is especially the case among the young adults. It is also noted that, though the phenomenon has been rampant among men it is gaining momentum among the women as well. And while previous studies, both popular and academic, have only discussed the issue without offering recommendations to the attendant consequences, this paper will also highlight some of the factors that have induced these young adults, both men and women, into such acts.

These factors include such factors as need for more pleasure and sex as a form of expressing oneself and boosting of ego problems associated with long-term committed relationships. I discuss these factors in depth, and particularly the fact that most Americans are pushed by frustrations and difficulties associated with long-term relationships. With regard to the long-term committed relationships, this paper finds that though a good number of respondents get into casual sex and promiscuity due to the difficulties associated with long term committed relationship, they equally show greater appreciation for long term committed relationship. Apparently, this is the case even among the men who, traditionally, have been documented to be more willing than women to indulge in casual sex and promiscuity than women. This paper also finds that a sizable number of participants are compelled into engaging in casual sex and promiscuity by appetite for sheer pleasure.

More American men and women today seem to revel in casual sex and promiscuity more than any other time before.  This can be attributed to, among other factors, difficulty in long-term committed relationships the discovery of sexs health benefits need for pleasure that sex offers to express individual freedom and bolster egos. But there are consequences that have somehow curtailed its swift progress. These include such factors as sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea, Syphilis, AIDS and many more one is also psychologically traumatized and many others.

       Factors associated with Casual Sex and Promiscuity
Problems associated with committed long-term relationships
 More and more Americans are finding it difficult to carry on with long-term committed relationships.  Long-term relationships have become an eyesore to many Americans and this can be attested by the many divorce cases in the US. As such a good number of Americans are seeking solace in casual sex and promiscuity. Some have found it enjoyable others have engaged in them but have not really found any pleasure in them.

According Sherman (2004) and Jonason, Liand Cason (2009) young women in particular prefer casual sex because they consider it a protection from a broken heart. They prefer the freedom of no-strings-attached sex to the effort of maintaining a marriage or boyfriend-girlfriend arrangement (Sherman, 2004).  Sherman (2004) quotes a young woman, a 35-year-old social worker from Portland, Oregon, who puts Frankly, many folks are in relationships that are more work than reward, and that is not enticing to me. I am pretty happy with my life as a single woman, and sometimes casual physical contact is all I need to scratch my itch for that connection (Sherman, 2004). That is how frustrated some Americans are with committed relationships.

But again there is a deviation. Even as some respondents in Shermans study showed preference for casual sex to the hustle-bustle associated with maintaining a marriage or boyfriend-girlfriend arrangement, 5 percent of them admitted that they sleep with a man to see if hes worth getting to know casual sex can therefore be a platform to long-term committed relationship, in addition 46 percent have developed committed relationships from what started out as one-night stands (Sherman, 2004). May be this is an indication that marriage or a strong emotional relationship is not always out of question for those who indulge in casual sex and promiscuity and that may be casual sex and promiscuity is merely one of the means to attaining long-term committed relationships (Easton  Liszt, 1997).

And in a study by Epstein et al. (2009), it was established that some of the men explicitly stated that they were more interested in committed dating relationships than hookups. Epstein et al. (2009) further went on and gave an illustration from a man named Derek. When Derek met his girlfriend Sarah, she was scantily dressed and expressed immediate interest in him but he only took her number and decided not to pursue anything that night(Epstein et al. 2009). He said, I like to take my time and I didnt want a hookup (Epstein et al. 2009). He called her a few days later, and the two started dating (Epstein et al. 2009). They did not begin having sex, however, until both got tested for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV (Epstein et al. 2009).

Another study by Surbey and Conohan (1999) found that the possibility of forming a long term relationship elevated participants anticipated willingness to have intercourse with an otherwise unfamiliar individual. Indeed there is an affair known as the booty call that tries to bring about a compromise between long-term committed relationship and non-relational relations that is characterized with casual sex. Booty calls tend to utilize various communication mediums to facilitate sexual contact among friends who, for men, may represent low-investment, attractive sexual partners and, for women, may represent attractive test-mates (Jonason, Li and Cason, 2009). The relationship is a compromise between mens and womens ideal mating strategies that allow men greater sexual access and women an ongoing opportunity to evaluate potential long-term mates (Jonason, Li and Cason, 2009).

2. The scientific confirmation that sex has some therapeutic effect on participants
Easton and Liszt (1997) are self-confessed ethical sluts. They describe that ethical sluts as  discover that being openly sexual and intimate with many people is not only possible, but can be more rewarding than they ever imagined. Easton and Liszt (1997) who describe themselves proud sluts believe that sex and sexual love are fundamental forces for good- activities with the potential to strengthen intimate bonds, enhance lives, create spiritual awareness, even change the world.
Moreover they believe that all consensual sexual choices have these potentials- that any sexual pathway, consciously chosen and mindfully followed, can be a positive, creative force in the lives of individuals and their communities (Easton  Liszt, 1997).

3. Need for sheer pleasure that sex offers
Easton and Liszt (1997) are proud participants of casual sex and promiscuity. They describe themselves as ethical sluts. A slut, they say, is a person of any gender who has the courage to lead life according to the radical proposition that sex is nice and pleasure is good for you. A slut may choose to have sex with herself only, or with the Fifth Fleet (Easton  Liszt,1997). He may be heterosexuals homosexual or bisexual, a radical activist or a peaceful suburbanite (Easton  Liszt,1997).

A slut shares his sexuality the way a philanthropist shares her money because they have a lot of it to share, because it makes them happy to share it, because sharing makes the world a better place (Easton  Liszt, 1997). Sluts often find that the more sex and love they give away, the more they have- a loaves-and-fishes miracle in which greed and generosity go hand-in-hand to provide more for everybody. Imagine living in sexual abundance (Easton  Liszt, 1997).
       
That pleasure is a major motivator for indulging in casual sex has been widely documented. Schmitt (2008) asserted that perhaps the strongest personality predictor of short-term mating is impulsive sensation-seeking. This he notes is supported by Hoyle et al. (2000) and Zuckerman and Kuhlman (2000) who vindicate this proposition. They say that most people engage in casual sex and promiscuity mainly for the sheer pleasure of it.

While Sherman (2004) also found that the most common reason for the respondents to indulge in casual sex is pure pleasure (25 percent), she notes that a sizable number of respondents participate in casual sex merely for adventure (18 percent) this is also supported by Easton  Liszt (1997). Moreover, Sherman (2004) found that around half of the respondents revealed that compared to sex in a committed relationship, a fling (construed in the present study as casual sex) is more exciting, wonderfully freeing, or second-best to a relationship but better than nothing. Of course the other half said that it is worth it.

Wight et al. (2008) says that most studies have often overlooked the fact that sex is enjoyable for most teenagers and that many adolescents seek sexual relationships expecting them to bring intimacy, social prestige and pleasure. This also confirms the postulation that casual sex is a platform to a more committed relationship.

4. Casual Sex and Promiscuity as ways of expressing an individuals freedom and boosting egos
More and more Americans are indulging in casual sex and promiscuity to stamp their individual freedom and boost their ego. A few studies have proved this. Sherman (2004) in their study found that 9 of the respondents engage in casual sex for an ego boost the ego boost, and stress relief (8 percent). And in Wight et al. (2008) it was found that heterosexual experience is important for positive self-perception, particularly for males.

According to Easton and Liszt (1997) argue that all of us are ethical sluts or seek to be one and that in most of the world, slut is a highly offensive term, used to describe a woman whose sexuality is voracious, indiscriminate and shameful ( p.13). They are therefore incensed by the fact its analogous word stud, is used to describe a highly sexual man, is often a term of approval and envy (Easton Liszt, 1997).

The phrase ethical slut has therefore been reclaimed as counteract to its counterpart the stud. Easton and Liszt (1997) say that the latter has been glorified as opposed to slut which has been seen as profane. Easton and Liszt (1997) argue that ethical sluts are those who dream of freedom, those who dream of sex, and those who dream of an abundance of friends and flirtation and consensual conquest, those who would like to follow their desires and see where they take them.
Schmitt (2008) cite Eysenck (1971, 1976) whose study based on his three-factor model of personality has argued that extraversion is central to explaining individual differences in sexuality, including many facets of short-term mating. They argue that extraverts, for example, are more likely than introverts to endorse favorable attitudes about having multiple sex partners and to engage in sexual intercourse with more partners than introverts do (Eysenck, 1976 Eysenck and Eysenck, 1975). 

Consequences of Casual sex and Promiscuity
Despites all these gratifications of casual sex and promiscuity, Americans are aware of the consequences of these sexual behaviors. In the study of the young people who engaged in casual sex, Wight et al. (2008) found that a  substantial minority of young people, however, regret their early sexual encounters,  and one of the most important predictors o f such regret is coercion. Coercion is clearly important to subjective experience, as well as being associated with exposure to STDs, depression, other psychological problems and disempowerment (Wight et al. (2008).  In addition, stress in romantic relationships is associated with depressive symptoms and other psychological problems (Wight et al. 2008).

Indeed, exposure to STDs, depression, and other psychological problems (Eisenberg et al., 2009) are intrinsically associated with casual sex and promiscuity. And even the so-called ethical sluts advice that you need to protect yourself against HIV and against herpes, hepatitis, gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, shigella, human papilloma virus, cervical cancer, unwanted pregnancy and a host of other nasties (Easton  Liszt, 1997). They therefore insist on safe sex, which arguably, is at variance with the fundamentals of casual sex and promiscuity. 

Sherman (2004) reported that while 49 percent of the respondents always use condoms, 36 percent employ them only sometimes, and 11 percent never do. Sherman (2004) says that this means way too many of casual sex participants put themselves at risk of potentially fatal diseases like AIDS Sherman (2004). In sub-Saharan Africa alone, 23 million adults are currently infected with HIV, with most cases traceable to instances of short-term mating (Schmitt, 2008).

It is also vital to understand that though a lot of women engage in casual sex and promiscuity, only a few of them are capable of truly casual sex, and that is about 25 according to a study conducted by oprah.com (Sherman (2004). Sherman (2004) in a similar question asking which statement best describes how respondents feel afterward after engaging in casual sex, 29 percent chose Try as I might to be detached, sex is never really casual for me. I always feel something more 33 percent selected Ive been had Sherman (2004).  And while 22 percent said you walk away feeling empowered, sexy, andor happy to be single 80 have regrets Sherman (2004). This is the case even among the empowered, sexy and or happy to be single.

Grello, Welsh, and Harper (2006) found that casual sex was a fairly common occurrence related to early sexual transition, engaging in first sex with a casual sex partner, drug use, and alcohol consumption. Depressive symptoms were associated with engaging in casual sex differently for males and females ((Grello, Welsh, and Harper, 2006). True, males who engaged in casual sex reported the fewest symptoms of depression, and females who had a history of casual sex reported the most depressive symptoms (Grello, Welsh, and Harper, 2006) but they still do have symptoms.

Schmitt (2008) says that behaviorsincluding variants such as promiscuity, infidelity, and the poaching of other peoples long-term partnersrepresent significant health concerns to individuals, relationships, and societies throughout the world. Citing (Bringle and Buunk, 1991 Gottman, 1994) Schmitt (2008) reasons that short-term mating can lead to relationship dissolution, sexual jealousy and violent retribution by aggrieved partners. It is also responsible for the contraction of sexually-transmitted diseases and infections Schmitt (2008).

More and more Americans are embracing casual sex and promiscuity as conventional ways of sexual life. Americans today, more than any other period or place, are not shying away from expressing their sexual lives. They compose music on their sexual escapades make adverts that must have sexual connotations openly discuss about their last night intercourse in public forums, just to mention a few.
This show of appreciation of casual sex and proximity has been attributed to the lows and the highs that characterize long-term committed relationships, the scientific confirmation that more sex is healthy, the desire for more pleasure in this stressful times and sex as a means to express ones individuals freedom and bolster egos. It remains to be seen whether the act of sexual intercourse shall jump out of the privacy of bedrooms cars, on couches in pubs, at a street corner. And while this is not entirely grave, there are consequences that have to be appreciated. These include sexually transmitted diseases and psychological problems.