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Penn Community Reacts Via Social Media To NYT Hookup "Exposé"

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By BEN LERNER

July 18, 2013 at 2:13 pm

Did you hear about that woman who spent an absurdly long time on campus to write an absurdly long New York Times article that was absurdly non-groundbreaking? Yeah, you did, and your great-aunt called to discuss how "sad" and "empty" your existence must be.

Regardless, the Times is surely sittin' peachy this week as Kate Taylor's trend piece is the paper's most emailed and is getting tons of buzz nationwide. Of course, commentary about the article has dominated Quakers' news feeds and Twitters, criticizing everything from the article's limited pool of profiled subjects to its casual insertion of a sexual assault.

The DP talked to students, administrators and experts. Now, check out an incomprehensive collection of Penn's angry, sassy social media rants – and feel free to add your two cents in the comments.

Rising senior Amanda Wolkin's rebuttal for Philadelphia magazine: Taylor’s article makes it seem as if Penn students only see two relationship options: meaningless hookups or relationships that are expected to end in marriage...her findings are neither revolutionary nor entirely accurate: Wow, women are going to college not to find boyfriends, but to get a job! But, wrapping the reason for hooking up in a neat bundle of careerism and adaptability is flawed and far too simplified."

Alumna Dr. Logan Levkoff for The Huffington Post: It would also be remiss of me to ignore that the author juxtaposed the conversation about women's empowerment with one student's experience of rape...Let me just say this: "Hooking up" is nothing new and there is no way that rape should be expected outcome of anything. But that appears to be part of the author's assertion. In the end, the article left me wondering what its real point was.

Recent grad Nicole Scott for Philadelphia magazine: In reality, hook-up buddies are much more diverse than boys who we don’t like but sleep with when we’re blacked out. In fact, although Taylor misses this, consistent hook-ups that provide some form of emotional enjoyment are a significant part of Penn’s hook-up culture.  There are women actively seeking committed relationships. There are important homosexual and bisexual narratives to be told. There are many women that are not intensely career-centric. Penn women inspire me every day. While we may be overbooked, we are much too complex to be defined by unrealistic social dichotomies.

Rising senior Arielle Pardes for Cosmopolitan: For Taylor, Penn women have a choice between career success and relationships, and they’re choosing careers—but casual sex isn’t a way for women to “get ahead,” or play some sort of “game” with sexual partners who we don’t actually like. Sometimes, we just want to have sex for sex’s sake... Taylor cherry-picks examples of women who are either having no-strings attached sex or saving themselves until marriage, which reinforces the idea that women are either “sluts” or “prudes,” Samanthas or Charlottes, either having one-night-stands or waiting for a ring by spring.

Oh, and for the true definition of a rant, check out IvyGate's Twitter, including these gems:

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