Thursday, February 15, 2007

Lunchtime Poll: Do you like to hook up, y/n?

Kristin and I have discovered (really it was Kristin and someone else who brought this to my attention, but this is my blog and I'm the one taking an informal Internet poll here), being so East Coast and all, that people in the Midwest seem to have a different definition of "hooking up." When I was in college, "hooking up" could mean a variety of things ranging from "making out on her roommate's pile of laundry" to "I sure hope JMU doesn't stop handing out the emergency contraceptive pill because I might be preggers." Turns out that people from the Midwest (well, the two that we asked) claim that hooking up means sex. Doing it. Going all the way. Hand jobs don't count as hooking up in Illinois, apparently.

So, here's what I'm asking from everyone who reads this: please leave a comment and tell me what you think hooking up means. Can it just mean fondling? Does it have to define actual sex? (I assume some sort of penetration is the definition of sex. We can discuss that at a later date.) (Oh, God, my brother reads my blog and he's going to see that I used the word "penetration.") And, in your comment, let me know where you're from: the East Coast, the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, Texas, etc. I won't even get offended if you leave anonymous comments. I'm just very curious.

Also, if you're from the Midwest and you enjoy making out, please let me know. I'm not going to proposition you or anything (although I was Make Out King my senior year of college. I have a plaque to prove it); it seems like the two Midwesterners we "polled" were also not fans of making out, which is something that Kristin and I just DON'T GET.

22 comments:

matt said...

I don't think of 'hooking up' as requiring penetration at all. I'm not sure which 'base' is required, but no more than 2nd, surely. That's my East Coast opinion.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Matt and I am also East Coast.

Steve said...

Yeah, I know that I've also got that biased east coast perspective, but I think hooking up can pretty much be anything past making out.

Katie said...

Midwesterner says: If i told my friends I had "hooked up" I think they would assume sex. If I said made out - obviously that's making out and maybe just a little bit past. And if I said screwed around - that would be in between making out and hooking up.

So I guess I do agree with the midwestern take...

Tyler said...

I guess I have heard "messing around" to describe anything between making out and sex. "Screwing around," however, sounds much more serious and explicit. I think I'd assume more stuff happened than if you said "hooked up."

Anonymous said...

I LOVE TO MAKE OUT!!! i wish i could make out with eeeeeveryone.

oh, and hooking up to me just requires anything past making out. if you just kissed, maybe a little boob touching, you made out with him. If you go below the belt, you hooked up with him. if you had sex, you banged him. why can't the world be standardized in their sexual vocabulary? it could save a ton of confusion.

p.s. i love you tyty! and i'm sorry about the break-up, i wish i could be there to scratch your head and feed you pizza.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Katie. As an Illinoisan, I believe "hooking up" means sex. "Screwing around" is something in between making out and vaginal/anal intercourse.

Also as an Illinoisian, I love making out. LOVE IT!

-Antonello

Unknown said...

Growing up and living on the east coast "hooking up" did not just mean having sex...just making out with someone was considered hooking up!

Anonymous said...

"Hooking up" just means getting together. It's a metaphor. Be careful not to take it too literally.
Geographic location: Rocky Mountain Region.

Anonymous said...

East Coast WHAT!

I have always thought that hooking up meant anything and everything except intercourse. And if it was beyond you say, "WE FUCKED! *hi five*" or, "I hit that shit yo"

Remember all those times in college when you would come home from dates and I'd say, "welll..."

And you'd say, "I hit that shit yo!" ??

Remember?

Erica said...

Hooking up here means making out. There's a lot of mormons around here though, so maybe that's why. Location: Arizona

Who seriously doesn't like making out? I'm baffled.

Anonymous said...

I don't know why my comment didn't take the first time, so here it is again:
"Hooking up" in Texas just means making out and anything beyond. Sex can definitely be implied but you may need to ask the person for clarification of said hookup. Kind of like when I worked at DePaul with Tyler and he told me he "hooked up" with our boss. I just assumed it meant they made out but I was just being naive.

each of the two said...

east coaster all the way, lived in NC, FL, NY, RI and hooking up is anything after making out and can mean sex but not necessarily and if there was sex additional clarification is required. Midwesterners are weird dirty fuckers sometimes.

Anonymous said...

I'm a midwesterner, and while I have found that the general definition in this area seems to mean sex, my personal definition is, at the very least,making out.

Yes, fondling (which often flows naturally from making out) can be considered "hooking up", as can any form of penetration, but the threshhold does not require such activities.

Also, as a midwesterner, I must say that I personally LOVE making out. I went through a nearly 2 year period where making out was my only form of sexual activity, and I was more than happy with that.

Perhaps it should be noted, however, that this same period was also entirely relationship-less (meaning all of these were "hook-ups") and perhaps I am a statistical anomaly amongst midwesterners.

Oh well, I have no qualms about being the exception that proves the rule.

Lisa said...

I'm glad there are a few other midwesterners out there. You East Coasters had me thinking I was crazy and it was I that didn't know the definition of hook up, which is, obviously, sex. :)

Anonymous said...

Hooking up means making out, sex, and everything in between.


Does my German birth certificate make my vote count extra? I am EAST COAST, I am CONTINENTAL, and besides...I've made out with you.

Anonymous said...

I use "hooking up" to mean anything from making out to sex. It is sort of a catch-all phrase, much like messing around. Basically, I use hooking up or messing around when I don't want to go into details about what happened.

I have lived in various states throughout the Midwest my entire life.

And I love making out. I think making out is an activity that too often gets dismissed and/or rushed through on the way to sex. On the other hand there are a lot of bad kissers out there, so maybe it is for the best.

Unknown said...

I always thought hooking up was the spectrum of make out just before full-on sex, then once you'd actually slept with the person, you say "yeah, I tapped that." Maybe that's just the east coast or my sheltered childhood speaking.

Unknown said...

Also, who doesn't like making out? Do they also dislike candy and puppies and all things good? Making out is one of life's bonus prizes.

Anonymous said...

maybe we should have a "raise your hand if you've made out with tyler" lunch-time poll. what do you say, your majesty?

mcm said...

Huh. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, and I've always defined "hooking up" as something between making out and sex.

Perhaps, however, the discrepancy is because I do believe, compared to yourself and your other readers, I am freakin' old, at nearly 33 years of age.

Also, I have always enjoyed making out. Even now that I am married and will be making out with only one person for the rest of my life. But, again, I'm old, so what do I know?

Anonymous said...

Since starting high school I've heard people use the word "hooking up" to mean making out, but it wasn't until my senior year that I found out, from my brother that it meant having sex.
So I told some people about that and they've actually started to say make out rather than hook up, I guess its catching on. West Coast: Southern California
-Mark