The Allure of the Freshman Girl: Peers, Partying, and the Sexual Assault of First-Year College Women

Abstract

Although sexual assault has long been recognized as a problem among college students, little attention has been paid to why first-year women are the most likely to be assaulted. In this article the author drew on two studies of college students to analyze peer culture and the organization of gender and sexuality within a college party scene. Within this scene, fraternity men's masculine identities and peer status were linked to their ability to hook up with women. However, strong sexual double standards stigmatized many sexually active women, reducing their appeal as sexual partners. In contrast, men saw first-year women were seen as "fresh," "clean," and especially alluring. The organization of campus life at the beginning of the year also made these women particularly available.

Dating across and hooking 'up': Status and relationship formation at an elite liberal arts university

“…Over the past decade and a half, scholars have identified numerous drawbacks to hooking up for college women. These include a "sexual double standard" for women (Allison and Risman 2013;Armstrong, Hamilton, and England 2010;Sweeney 2011); reduced sexual pleasure (Armstrong, England, and Fogarty 2012); and feelings of confusion, disempowerment, and regret (Glenn and Marquardt 2001). While some research suggests that hooking up may be experienced as a form of empowerment for class-privileged women (Hamilton 2014) like the ones in our study, these relationships nonetheless tend to form on men's terms and, often, men's turf.…”

“Cool” Party, Bro: The Fraternity Use of Party Structure as a Mechanism for Control over Female Status on Campus

“…However, on many campuses partying and associated culture becomes the recreational activity of choice for many students (Allison and Risman 2014;Rhoads 1995;Sanday 2007;Shinew and Parry 2005;Smith and Brown 1998;Weiss 2013). Some fraternities have used the party culture to establish themselves at the top of the social hierarchy and in doing so they are able to yield a substantial amount of influence on other existing campus populations (DeSantis 2007;Flood 2008;Franklin, Bouffard, and Pratt 2012;Krebs et al 2007a;Sanday 2007;Schwartz et al 2001;Sweeney 2011). The following article will examine how fraternities perpetuate the constructed ideals of traditional sex roles through the use party structure and how these social gatherings offer a way for fraternity men to categorize females on campus.…”

“…Across the United States, women now outnumber men in both college attendance and earned degrees (Lewin 2006). One phenomenon that has remained constant on the college campus is sexual assault, particularly within the Greek system (Benson, Gohm, and Gross 2007;Krebs et al 2007a;Menning 2009;Sanday 2007;Sweeney 2011;Thompson, Swartout, and Koss 2013;Voller and Long 2010;Weiss 2013;Zinzow and Thompson 2015). On today's university campuses, researchers have predicted that one in every four female college students will experience rape or attempted rape by the time they graduate (Kingree and Thompson 2013;Koss et al 1988;Koss, Gidycz, and Wisniewski 1987;Koss and Gaines 1993).…”

“…These factors make it easier for fraternity members to isolate potential female victims in rooms located away from party center. Once isolated from their friends and peers, the risk of sexual assault dramatically increases (Bannon, Brosi, and Foubert 2013;Gross et al 2006;Krebs et al 2009b;Sanday 2007;Sweeney 2011). Participating in excessive drinking and drug use at fraternity parties is normative recreational activity and participation a necessary activity for acceptance and socialization (Abbey 1991(Abbey , 2002Benson et al 2007;Lawyer et al 2010;Menning 2009;Smith 2013).…”

Frequency and Correlates of Campus Crime: Missouri Public Postsecondary Institutions

“…Most of the studies in the field assessed violence prevention policy or programs and very few studies measured actual crime incidents. Furthermore, those studies focused on specific forms of violence, such as hate crime (Stotzer & Hossellman, 2012) or sex-related incidents (Krebs, Lindquist, Warner, Fisher, & Martin, 2009;Sweeney, 2011), rather than addressing various forms of campus crime simultaneously. The current study attempted to find factors of campus crime using samples of public institutions only in Missouri, because public institutions have more frequent criminal incidents than private institutions (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 1997;Volkwein et al, 1995).…”