Free love is a term best used to characterize the socially radical 1960s and 1970s. Women and men, of the time, were empowered and the ideas of sex were at the forefront of film and television. As the 1980s arrived, the spread of the AIDS epidemic challenged the sexual freedom of the decade before.

Today, societal standards about sex may have changed, but casual sex, and the stigmas that come with it, are still talked about.

“The stigma for gender stereotypes for casual sex are not the same for each gender,” Travis Herera, 19, English major said.

Casual sex can be explained through where the person is at, such as a university.

“It could be the university setting,” Stacey Allen, associate professor of sociology, said. “It could be a situation thing because if you live in dorms, it can increase the likelihood.”

Some students agree that there is nothing wrong with casual sex. Some students even deem casual sex as “fun” because of their youth. Some just feel like there are no problems with sleeping around.

“When someone has a lot of casual sex, they may be insecure,” Allen said. “They think to themselves that it is really fun so they keep doing it.”

For some, casual sex is fun as long as there are some borders, like protection.

“It is fun. You meet new people and get to have sex with them, as long as you are protected,” Steven Leavitt, 20, undecided major, said.

Some prefer casual sex to be as comfortable a setting as possible.

“If you’re comfortable with them as a friend, chances are you will be comfortable with them for other things,” Brenna Smith, 18, archaelogy major, said.

Having casual sex can be influenced by how people are raised by their parents.

“It is how men and women are raised and what we teach to children,” Allen said.

One of the reasons as to why women partake in casual sex can have a lot to do with more modernized thinking with the definition of independence.

“Maybe it is due in part to women’s freedom,” Allen said. “Maybe they want to have intimate relationships and not be tied down.”

Some feel that men can sleep with many women and be dubbed a pimp, while women who do the same thing are labeled demoralizing titles that emphasis being loose and wild. This is a stigma that makes it more acceptable for men to engage in more casual sex acts.

“Men face less of a stigma in casual sex because women are afraid of being labeled sluts,” Smith said.

Even if the belief is that women are more in tune with their feelings, the idea that women are more emotionally attached to relationships is not necessarily true.

“Women are more likely to break up with men,” Allen said. “Men seem to have a longer time getting over the relationship.”

A double standard exists because of the way each gender is viewed when in the act of having casual sex and it should not be the case.

“Women can be more vocal and assertive,” Allen said. “They should stand up against the double standard and not contribute to it.”

While some students said that casual sex is not a big deal, others believe that while engaging in casual sex can be fun, it also makes a person lose a sense of who they are.

“A lot of people are dropping their own morals; you could have a lot of fun while young without having casual sex,” Jenny Magnani, 19, undecided said.

The risks, when it comes to casual sex, are numerous because there will be some emotion attached to it as well as the dangers of meeting strangers.

“Look for fun elsewhere, you could do a lot of things that doesn’t involve sex, save it for someone special,” Magnani said.