Booty Calls

A new form of sexual relationship that has emerged in recent years is the booty call. A booty call is a form of non-committal relationship that is organized by the use of the telephone. Booty calls differ from conventional hookups or one night stands in that they often involve recurrent sexual encounters and are organized through electronic communication, not in person. In a booty call situation, one individual will call the other and arrange a meeting to engage in sexual activity. After the sexual encounter, the individuals will part ways until they call each other again at a later date. Booty call relationships rarely involve date-like activities or any non-sexual activities.

Interestingly enough, there seems to be an evolutionary basis for individuals engaging in booty call relationships. Psychologist Karl Jonason has called the booty call a compromise between men's relatively short-term and women's comparatively long-term ideals. Men are somewhat obviously attracted to booty call relationships because they allow access to sex at a low cost. Women will engage in short-term relationships as a way to evaluate potential long-term mates. Booty call relationships are even more attractive to females because they involve multiple encounters, thus there is a higher chance for emotional involvement and the relationship developing into a long-term one. The booty call allows females the chance to evaluate potential partners in a short-term context with a possibility of securing a long-term relationship with an attractive partner.

Booty call relationships tend to involve more varied sexual activities than hookups or one night stands. This is due simply to time constraints: because booty call relationships involve multiple encounters, the participants have more time to explore varied sexual activities and positions.

Generally, one partner in a booty call relationship will be resistant to the idea of it progressing to a serious long-term relationship. Thus the relationship will end after some time when one or the other partner becomes dissatisfied with the current arrangement.

Should you find yourself in a booty call relationship, or are considering one, be sure you know what you want out of the relationship. If you are looking for a long-term relationship, a booty call might not be for you. However, if you want a casual sexual relationship with slightly more substance than a one-night stand, a booty call relationship may work for you.

References:

1. Jonason, P. K., Li, N. P., & Cason, M. J. (2009). The booty call: A compromise between men's and women's ideal mating strategies. Journal of Sex Research 46, 1-11
2. Jonason, P. K., Li, N. P., & Richardson, J. (2010). Positioning the booty-call relationship on the spectrum of relationships: sexual but more emotional that one-night stands. Journal of Sex Research, 47, 1-10.