In his recent column, physics professor Richard Denton inveighs against the supposed evils of casual sex ("Sex and Responsibility," Oct. 18). Citing sexually transmitted diseases and emotional damage as the prime dangers facing promiscuous members of the Dartmouth population, Denton encourages single students to adopt a program of abstinence until they are in a committed, lifelong relationship. To men, for whom celibacy is especially "difficult," he recommends masturbation. To women, for whom celibacy is at least presumably easy, he recommends nothing.
Denton reports that his wife overheard some students boasting about the sexually transmitted diseases they had contracted, and he concludes that there is an "STD epidemic" on the Dartmouth campus. He argues that "permanent monogamy" is not only a means of rectifying this unprecedented pestilence but also the "situation for which most students should aim." A veritable polemic against sexual expression or experimentation of any kind, Denton's piece describes sex outside of long-term monogamous relationships as engendering "worry, regret, guilt and loss of self-esteem."
Multiple studies confirm that sexual activity correlates with happiness and improved health. The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality verifies that people who engage in frequent sexual activity are less likely to display signs of clinical depression. Researchers at the University of West Scotland have discovered that the endorphins released during sex help people successfully navigate stressful situations, and the Sexual Psychophysiology Laboratory at the University of Texas has discovered that these same endorphins make for sounder sleep. Scientists at Wilkes University have shown that students who have sex once or twice a week produce higher levels of antibodies preventing colds and infections, and a British study reveals that men who have sex at least twice a week are 45 percent less likely to develop life-threatening heart diseases.
The study that Denton cites conducted by economics professor David Blanchflower and a colleague at the University of Warwick does suggest that married couples are happier than their unmarried peers, but it is unclear whether these findings indicate that monogamous couples are happier in virtue of their exclusivity or in virtue of their consistent access to regular sexual relations. What the study does indicate is that sexual activity of any kind is linked to happiness.
The emotional perils that Denton identifies are by no means specific to sex. "Worry, regret, guilt and loss of self-esteem" are risks associated with any social interaction. And while STD prevention is an admirable aim, there is no reason to throw the birth control out with the bath water. There are many ways of practicing safe sex that don't involve abstinence or monogamy. As Denton notes, the best is to use condoms. Another obvious tactic is for students to engage in an open dialogue with their sexual partners about sexual health issues.
More offensive than any of Denton's misguided arguments, however, is his general attitude of righteous and prescriptive paternalism. He makes the crucial mistake of assuming that sex does or should serve the same function for everyone and that a small group of people is qualified to dictate what sex should mean for the rest of us. His arguments smack of a culture of Puritanism and self-denial, a culture that forcibly imposes its own value structures on a diverse group of people with a diverse set of conceptions of the body.
Sex is highly personal. It plays a wide array of different roles in a wide range of different lives. While sex can represent the consummation of a deep emotional bond, it can just as easily represent a casual physical release.
When Denton writes that "casual sex trivializes what is meant to be a deeply spiritual experience," we must ask, is meant for whom? Perhaps for Denton, and others who hope to enter into lifelong monogamous relationships. But such a commitment is not for everybody, and there is no correct answer when it comes to the question of romantic orientation.
The toxic "hook-up culture" that Denton is so quick to decry is flawed only insofar as it engenders sexual relationships devoid of respect, but it is ludicrous to assert that the only respectful relationships are permanent and monogamous ones.
As long as Dartmouth students remain safe, informed and thoughtful, none of the conclusions they reach about their own sexualities can be wrong. And as long as they remember to respect and celebrate each other as people, there can be no harm in the sexual unions that ensue no matter if they are long-term lovers, spouses, friends or even strangers.
