Being Drunk Makes You More Likely To Get Attached To a Hookup
Only a few bold people have casual sex sober. The rest of us wait until the tequila kicks in before we saunter off with a tall, dark, and handsome stranger at the end of the night.
Sure, drunk sex can be kind of ratchet and messy, but what does alcohol do to our brains on sex?
For women, being drunk can actually make us get attached to that rando we fucked last weekend, according to Larry Young, a researcher at Emory University who specializes in social behaviors.
Young talked to VICE about his work with voles, a.k.a one of the few mammals that are monogamous and therefore are generally used in experiments about love and sex to relate to humans.
“When male voles drink alcohol they become promiscuous and it prevents them from bonding,” explained Young. “Normally, if the male vole mated with a female, the next day when we put him in a three-chambered cage containing three female voles, he’ll opt to sit with the vole he previously mated with.”
But, when the male vole was given alcohol before mating, “He’ll prefer the novel females.”
Doesn’t this kind of remind you of that one dude you fucked in college who totally avoided you the next time he saw you at the bar? And then you watched him blatantly hit on your sorority sister? Yeah. Cool.
On the other hand, “when females drink alcohol, it increases the likelihood they will bond prematurely,” explained Young.
Fab. This also explains why you were so hurt about the aforementioned dude even though he was a try-hard who wore a hemp necklace and you had absolutely nothing in common.
Why is it that drunk sex only affects women negatively? First a study proved that women don’t have safe sex when drunk, and now this? C’mon, cut us a break.
Does this mean that you should stop having drunk sex altogether? Let’s not get too crazy. But it does explain why you find yourself getting attached to dudes who wouldn’t normally be worth your time.
Instead of completely swearing off of alcohol and late night booty calls, keep in mind some moves to help you prevent yourself from getting attached. And if you really think you should stop hooking up with randos while drunk, feel free to do your thing.
