Positioning the Booty-Call Relationship on the Spectrum of Relationships: Sexual but more Emotional than One-Night Stands

• Main Authors: JONASON, Peter K., LI, Norman P., RICHARDSON, Jessica
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2011
• Subjects: college-students; mate preferences; strategies; sociosexuality; perspective; partners; culture; gender; men; Gender and Sexuality; Personality and Social Contexts; Social Psychology
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1063; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/2319/viewcontent/Positioning_booty_call_2011_av.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Most research on human sexuality has focused on long-term pairbonds and one-night stands. However, growing evidence suggests there are relationships that do not fit cleanly into either of those categories. One of these relationships is a ‘‘booty-call relationship.’’ The purpose of this study was to describe the sexual and emotional nature of booty-call relationships by (a) examining the types of emotional and sexual acts involved in booty-call relationships and (b) comparing the frequency of those acts in booty-call relationships to one-night stands and serious long-term relationships. In addition, the manner in which sociosexuality is associated with the commission of these acts was also examined. Demonstrative of booty-call relationships’ sexual nature was individuals’ tendency to leave after sex and infrequent handholding. In contrast, the romantic nature of booty-call relationships was demonstrated through the frequency of acts like kissing. The results suggest the booty-call relationship is a distinct type of relationship situated between one-night stands and serious romantic relationships.