Phil 230 - the Sexual Values of College

Research Paper #2

Jasmine Fells

PHIL 230

Professor Nattania

05/04/2016

The sexual values of college are being challenged daily. Students, male students mostly, are looking to have a memorable college experience with includes everything from alcohol to sex. Listening to people talk about the perception of college experience, hook ups are expected when alcohol, drugs, and parties are involved. The sexual values may portray different ideas and an individual may be a certain sexual value but they can also be swayed to see another sexual value as acceptable. When it comes to sex it is all about what one tolerates and believe is ethically right as well as acceptable to their peers. In Sexual Values of 783 Undergraduates Emily Richey breaks down the different types of sexual values as well as statistics to show her findings. Having sex will eventually lead to other decisions that have to be made potentially involving a child as well obeying a religious belief,.

There are three forms of sexual values that have identified. Absolutism is defined as sex before marriage. Relativism is defined as sex being okay if you are not married but is in a loving relationship. Hedonism is defined as if it feels good then do it. Previously being an on campus college student I witnessed incidents where people would just hook up with one person as well as multiple people. I do not believe that someone should have to wait to have sex until marriage but they should at least establish some form of connection. A friend with benefits is the term that is used in this day in age to define hedonism. Sex with no strings attached is an easy way to not commit to one single person. Hedonism is ethically wrong from my point of view because sometimes men lead women on believing that eventually they will have a relationship. Some women really just need someone who makes them feel wanted so they reach out and explore sexual values that are usually out of character for them. Some college students are not really looking for a relatioinship because it may interfere with their school so they may look for someone who is just wlling to satisfy them sexually.

Hedonism on the college campus occurs more than the reading showed because not every female is comfortable with admitting that they hook up with guys or have friends with benefits. Men will be more open and will take pride in the fact that they are hooking up with someone. I believe that if two people are just hooking up then they should not tell the others business. If the male tells the females business she is going to become insecure because she does not want any of her friends or classmates looking at her any different. I agree with the fact the people will look at the female negatively and praise the male because they believe he is a male and he should score every time he can. I believe that ethically this is wrong because although both female and males should have some form of standards the female should not be the only one who gets some form of shaming because she stepped outside of the expectations of society. Although I do not agree with hedonism I believe that no one should be judged for practicing it because that may be the only form of sexual encounter that they observed growing up. I believe that what one sees growing up makes a huge impact on how they encounter their future relations with the opposite race. Some women have a hedonism aspect but I have noticed that those women usually have been sexually battered as an adolescent. Women who have been sexually battered as an adolescent believe that they are not good enough for anyone and they are wanted for nothing more than sex. It is not the best of sexual values but some females believe that sex will get them love; they believe everything a male says when he is trying to have intercourse with her. Males can be very conniving and deceiving when they see a female that they want but her morals are high. This is ethically wrong on the male’s behalf because they know that women will give up more when she believes there are emotions involved.

Emotions will eventually come into play and the female will do everything in her power to become the male’s significant other. Most people who took the survey in this reading responded to be relativism. Being a female I agree with the relativism sexual value because I want to have a connection with the person I am having intercourse with. Two people can agree on being friends with benefits but eventually they will want more than that. Having an emotional connection within a relationship is more secure. Women look for protection and security from their partner. College students are still young so they all may not be looking deeply into the aspects of a relationship but they look into the relativism sexual value because they do not want to be labeled as easy to anyone. When relativism is put into play a person will ensure that they see every good and bad scenario that deals with their partner. I like this sexual value because it allows one to experience what they are getting sexually before they legally become bonded to it. When people go to college they do not expect a relationship but they usually create them. Some of the relationships lead to marriage but being in the college setting they are not waiting to marry to encounter in intercourse. This sexual value explains the world today and their sexual values because it allows them to have sex with no form of legal commitment. Relativism allows for the female to openly express how she feels about the male and the intercourse that they have. When a female can openly express herself within a relationship she becomes more comfortable and willing to have sexual relations with someone. I believe that someone will not have sexual relations with a random person because they need someone to constantly remind them that they are beautiful and that their body is lovable. In most cases that I have witnessed couples seem to become pregnant when they are practicing a relativism sexual value. Although they are in love they must both decide what type of effect having a baby will be on them.  In “Decisions, Moral Status, and Early Fetus” David Jensen argues that if a fetus is aborted they do not have the chance to become someone so they should not abort depending on the moral status. I believe that ethically and morally abortion is wrong unless the fetus is doing harm to one’s body. An unborn fetus should be given the option to come into this world and become someone even if the parents decide that giving the child up for adoption is the best option for them. Sex with or without an emotional connection will eventually lead to the bearing of a child whether a person use methods to avoid it or not. Religion as well as obedience can come into play in this form of sexual value because some religion believes that abortion and using contraceptives are a sin. I agree that one should obey their religious beliefs but when people are in love they tend to overlook their religion as well as what they were taught. Although the world have taken a spin and praised relativism there are still people who believe that sex before marriage is a sin.