Casual Sex in a Hook-up Culture
The legacy of sexual liberation
Gudrun Schultz

A recently published exposè on the physical and emotional fallout of casual sex off ers an excellent argument against today’s climate of anything-goes sexuality on college and university campuses.

Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student isa scathing indictment of political correctnesstoward casual sexuality that is rampant in student health centers, operatingat a devastating cost to the youngpeople, particularly the women, involved.Author Dr. Miriam Grossman is a psychiatristwith the student health serviceat the University of California and LosAngeles. Initially published under thepseudonym “Anonymous, M.D.,” thebook was born of a deep frustration withthe radical social politics “hijacking” herprofession.

Dr. Grossman targets the acceptance of casual, promiscuous sex as a normal and healthy part of life. Women are not wired to take sex lightly, Dr. Grossman says, and the “hook-up” culture prevalent on campuses takes a heavy toll on their mental and physical health. The physical fallout of casual sex has become a serious problem, with STDs rising to epidemic levels among young people. The consequences of casual sex are vividly apparent in the streams of distraught young adults walking through the doors of student health services.

She describes one student, “Olivia,” who falls apart after her first sexual relationship comes to an abrupt end. An old eating disorder flares up, she cries all the time and her grades plunge. “‘Why, doctor,’ she asks, ‘why do they tell you how to protect your body—from herpes and pregnancy—but they don’t tell you what it does to your heart?’”

Why, indeed. That is the challenge Unprotected tosses at the mental health professionals who push the ideology of “sexual freedom” to students in the name of tolerance and choice.

Dr. Grossman makes it clear that her concern stems from the physical consequences of casual sex—while her personal moral convictions are evident in her work, she is arguing for sexual responsibility primarily from a health standpoint. Multiple sexual partners result in STD’s and abortions—students suffer physical and mental consequences that follow them throughout their lives—these are the facts she has encountered in her work, and which students need to be told.

The legacy of mental and emotional trauma that frequently follows abortion should be public knowledge for students—instead, they are led to believe abortion is a safe and relatively meaningless solution to their pregnancy “problem”. As one young woman told Dr. Grossman—while seeking medication to cope with depression—a Planned Parenthood counselor had told her prior to her abortion that psychological problems after abortion were rare.

While student health centers warn the campus body of the dangers of smoking, unhealthy eating, lack of exercise and adequate rest, they are silent on the risks of casual sex. As a result, health centers are overwhelmed with students seeking help for depression, eating disorders, anxiety attacks and STDs. The current approach to sexual education is clearly not working for these young men and women.

“If psychology were truly concerned with all victims, not only those that advance their ideological agendas, their outreach would include individuals traumatized by abortion,” Dr. Grossman writes.
Political correctness towards casual sexuality sells young people short. The epidemic of mental illness and health problems on campuses will continue until students are given the facts they need to protect themselves from the legacy of casual sex.

Unprotected is an essential resource for parents, teachers, youth workers, and anyone concerned with the welfare of young adults. For more information visit www.MiriamGrossmanMD.com