Synonyms
Definition
Sex that is not based on an emotional context or with a romantic partner
Introduction
Impersonal sex cannot be oversimplified; instead, for impersonal sex to take place, a number of conditions must be met. Other factors, including the gender and race of the participants play key roles. There are also various reasons why someone may participate in impersonal sex, as well as both benefits and drawbacks of participation.
Impersonal sex, also called “hooking up” in modern culture, is sex that is not based on an emotional context or with a romantic partner. Impersonal sex is sexual intercourse with another person with many purposes including fun, to enhance one’s social status among peers, to assert control over one’s own sexuality, to express one’s sexual freedom, or to have sex without the intention of emotional commitment. These are the factors used to represent an endorsement of the hookup culture (Aubrey and Smith 2013). In addition to the...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Aubrey, J. S., & Smith, S. E. (2013). Development and validation of the endorsement of the Hookup Culture Index. Journal of Sex Research, 50(5), 435–448. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2011.637246.
Boot, I., Peter, J., & Oosten, J. M. F. V. (2014). Impersonal sex orientation and multitasking influence the effect of sexual media content on involvement with a sexual character. Media Psychology, 17(1), 55–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2012.742358.
Långström, N., & Hanson, R. K. (2006). High rates of sexual behavior in the general population: Correlates and predictors. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35(1), 37–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-006-8993-y.
Monto, M. A., & Carey, A. G. (2014). A new standard of sexual behavior? Are claims associated with the “hookup culture” supported by general social survey data? The Journal of Sex Research, 51(6), 605–615. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2014.906031.
Spell, S. A. (2016). Not just black and white. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 3(2), 172–187. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332649216658296.
Vrangalova, Z. (2015). Does casual sex harm college students’ well-being? A longitudinal investigation of the role of motivation. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44(4), 945–959. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-013-0255-1.
Vrangalova, Z., & Ong, A. D. (2014). Who benefits from casual sex? The moderating role of sociosexuality. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5(8), 883–891. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550614537308.
Vrangalova, Z., Bukberg, R. E., & Rieger, G. (2014). Birds of a feather? Not when it comes to sexual permissiveness. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 31(1), 93–113. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407513487638.
Weinberg, M. S., & Williams, C. J. (1975). Gay baths and the social organization of impersonal sex. Social Problems, 23(2), 124–136. https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.1975.23.2.03a00020.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Ashburn, R.B., Kazanas, S.A. (2020). Impersonal Sex. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1716-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1716-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences