For my final project, I explored the impact of hookup culture in Jewish youth groups on college students. I think that Jewish hookup culture contradicts traditional Jewish teachings on sex in many ways, so I attempted to explore if and how Jewish young adults attempt to reconcile that. I looked at traditional texts, modern views throughout the denominations, and personal accounts of experiences in hookup culture. The link to my presentation is below:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11n8DeZdwVONX-M_wAnBUSMM575K9NzAnvrMnICXqK2Q/edit?usp=sharing
Kayla, the student testimonials of your project were very impactful. Our projects are so similar in so many ways so it was fascinating to learn about this from the Jewish perspective after analyzing the Evangelical one. My student testimonials differed but intersected in different ways, which I thought was very interesting. The quotes about Judaism forgiving and protecting its participants from Christian purity culture were very impactful since I have firsthand seen how those values can tear down the women within those faiths/living life based on those teachings. Learning about the other organizations within the faith was also cool! There was so much I didn’t know about this topic so I really appreciate the research/testimonials you provided.
As someone who was raised Christian, I was very surprised to hear about how Jewish youth group events run in your experience. I suppose it makes a bit of sense based on what we learned in the class as well as what I’ve learned about Judaism outside of class, with the push to marry and have kids with someone who is also part of the religion. I also thought it was interesting was when you mentioned that sexual education at your school was not centered around religion even though you mentioned going to a Jewish school. Most religious schools I’ve heard about have sex-ed that focuses on religious teachings if they even have sex-ed at all.
My high school had a very high jewish population – many of which went to the same/ similar jewish summer camps as you did! I was therefore aware of this crazy hookup culture via the stories that my friends would tell me. I did not, however, think about this hook-up culture in the sense of elders wanting these teenagers to find love and procreate future jewish babies which was so interesting. The line here between promoting relationships and promoting this very sexual and potentially harmful culture seems very unclear. In terms of how this translates to hook up culture in college, it was super intriguing to see the perspectives of the people that you interviewed. In my project, 2/3 of the interviewees were raised in Catholic school. The contrast between the two different schools of religious educations and how it applies to college was really fascinating to see.
I really enjoyed this presentation! When you talked about hookups being remarked in adult minds as a path to long-term coupling I was both shocked and also not at all surprised at the same time. I never thought about it like that but it makes sense that adults would be hopeful in making that connection between hooking up and a real successful relationship. I was also surprised about how your camp clarified that anything under clothes isn’t allowed but it’s acceptable to do other things because it shows that things, even within religious traditions, are progressing. I also really liked the part of the interview with your friend where said she finds herself second-guessing her self worth if she doesn’t receive male validation. I think so often we underestimate how strong of a role male validation has on people when we are raised in traditions that teach us our end goal in life should be to end up with a man and normalize prioritizing that. thank you so much for sharing all of your experiences with us !!!
Kayla, I found your project to be so fascinating. I was completely unaware of the fact that relationships of this nature were so encouraged at Jewish summer campus. I had had some conversations with some of my friends who went to Jewish summer camps and their expression of their parents for them to meet and marry someone Jewish in college, so I thought it was so interesting to hear more from this perspective. I also found it so interesting when you mentioned that sex education is separated from religion, which I think is so uncommon in the Christian tradition and from my own experience growing up in Texas.
I loved your project! I also worked at and attended a summer camp for a total of 9 years, and It is wild how different it was. I went to a Christian summer camp, and the boys and girls were kept in two completely different parts of the camp. When the girls passed the boys we were told we had to make like a tree, and we couldn’t talk to them even if we were siblings. It is interesting to me that it seemed like purity culture had a greater impact on my camp, I guess it reflects the differences between the two religions. Overall fantastic project!
Wow, Kayla. I had no idea Jewish summer camps. It was really interesting to see the parents/organizations’ perspective of being somewhat lenient on hookups for future hopes of procreation. I talked to a friend who attended a Jewish summer camp about what I learned from your presentation, and she said the hookup culture at her camp could sometimes steer towards sexual assault. I’m so glad the camp you were at put a lot of importance on teaching consent. I think teaching consent in youth group is especially important since hookup culture is so prevalent in youth group. I learned a lot from your presentation, thank you for speaking on this topic.
Kayla, this was an awesome presentation! I really enjoyed your introduction on the differences between all the different types of Judaism. I thought it was really interesting that Conservative/Reformed Judaism has similar ideas to Christianity when it comes to sex and when it should happen. I thought the information on what happens at BBYO camps was wild! I couldn’t believe that it was that common for people to make out and be romantically involved with others at a religious camp. Super informative presentation over all!
This was really well done! Thank you for defining the term shomer negiah, that is the first time I’ve heard that term, as I’m not well-versed with the functioning’s of Abrahamic religions and teachings. I thought it was interesting that these youth groups were founded with the goal of encouraging Jewish marriages because some of my Jewish friends who attended these groups found their long-term partners there. I really loved hearing about the hookup culture in youth groups from direct sources. I’ve also had similar summer camp hookup experiences and have witnessed that prevalent culture among these younger groups, so I definitely agree with some of the experiences shared. I also thought it was very interesting how someone mentioned that this whole process kind of prepares you for hookup culture in college because I 100% resonate with that.
Kayla, this presentation was so informative! Although I never went to Jewish summer camps or youth groups, I have always heard from other Jewish people in my life about them and was aware of their reputation, but I still did not realize how intense their hookup culture is! It was super interesting how one of your interviewees said that hookups at events like conventions “prepped” her for college hookup culture, which gave me super mixed feelings. On one end, I am so glad that she does not feel ashamed about hookups and sexuality due to these experiences. On the other, I feel for her for being exposed to hookup culture so early on — I wonder what the potential developmental implications are, as hookup culture tends to profoundly impact adults who participate in it.
I love how we are able to see how hook-up culture has captivated most of religious spaces nowadays. Your project was incredibly informative and interesting. I would never had imagined how hook-up culture could be so prevalent within the Jewish youth, and especially at religious camp lol. But then again, you provided well-argumented ideas on why this could be, and one of those reasons in a weird way being finding a life partner. Interesting how those ideals would translate to hook-up culture but maybe it also offers some sort of sexual exploration and empowerment. Great job!