With the advent of the hookup culture, women who seek men are often left feeling lost, unfulfilled and unsatisfied.
A hookup culture, also known as the bar scene, is one which accepts and promotes casual sex relationships, which includes one night stands and several other associated adult activity, without necessarily comprising a serious commitment, emotional intimacy or a future together.
For many women, these one night stands or casual encounters with men are nothing more than a fleeting experience, something that happens out of the blue. In Latina women’s hookup culture, however, these same women are often subjected to serious physical and sexual abuse.
Educated Latina Women
This physical and sexual abuse can have detrimental effects on their physical and psychological well-being, leading many Latina women to turn to self-healing processes such as abortion, self-murder or suicide, in order to make themselves feel better.
Although college students are not targeted by the same levels of violence and abuse as Latina women, they are nevertheless susceptible to this type of abuse. It is not uncommon for Latina women to be subjected to degradation, insults, sexual intimacies and propositions.
However, there is a clear distinction between situations where physical violence is present, such as in a one night stand, and situations where verbal abuse, degradation and propositions are present, such as in fraternity parties or around the campus.
Hookup With Latina According Culture
For both college students and Latina hookup culture participants, it is easy to fall into the trap of the “give and take” mentality. In this culture, the exchange of favors for sexual intimacy is acceptable. Women are taught that they should exchange sex for the favor of receiving a degree, a promotion or a new friendship.
Latina women often feel that they need to give in order to receive. As women, it is difficult to separate your heart from your head when you are confronted witherkarting, sexual advances, propositions and other forms of harassment.
Many Latina college students experience trauma every day because of these actions and words. The difference between the trauma of college dating culture, and that of being raped or having your innocence ripped from you in a hookup culture, is that trauma is never replaced by a sexual response; therefore, it is never restored.
The impact of abuse can range from emotionally and sexually debilitating to stripping women of their sense of self worth. The effects of abuse can range from being terrorized by threats of violence to being completely taken by surprise by advances that leave them confused and traumatized.
How To Have A Talk About Hookup Culture
Even if the actions leading up to the trauma are not committed by members of the Latina hookup culture, their behaviors and attitudes towards sexuality will inevitably perpetuate the trauma.
The culture of casual sex encounters is premised on an exchange of favors for sexual intimacy. Latina women may be conditioned to expect certain behaviors from men in order to gain sexual pleasure.
However, this is not always the case. A Latina woman may be conditioned to believe that her partner wants to just have sex, without any consideration for her desires or feelings.
She may think that all that she needs to satisfy her husband and partner is a warm body and an intimate way of sharing intimate thoughts and experiences.
Serious Latina Dating
If women in the Latina hookup culture are not allowed to feel or express themselves sexually, then they may feel trapped within their own bodies.
They may experience discomfort when it comes to expressing sexual desires and may even be shamed from engaging in these desires out of fear for rejection.
Women who experience the consequences of their actions have low self esteem, are less confident and do not get the help they need to cope with their sexuality. This results in low levels of intimacy and sexual pleasure.
Latin American hookup cultures teach young people that sex is a normal everyday activity. Hookup cultures teach young people that sex is fun, but that having sex without getting married is not.
Latina Girls Relationships
In order to get into a relationship with someone, Latina girls and Latin guys must establish some sexual norms early on in their relationships.
The rules are laid out in the culture from the beginning, and if these rules are not followed, it could create problems for the Latina girl or Latina guy from the very start.
Latina girls are taught that a one-night stand is not a serious relationship. They may still enjoy being part of a Latina couple but often feel pressure from other Latina friends to join in one-night stands so that they can feel closer to their Latina friends.
As a result, they may engage in sexual activity outside of marriage while they are still in the relationship, and later develop an expectation that marriage is what their romantic life needs. This can have devastating effects on their Latina romantic relationship.