Although a common act among general society, one night stands are particularly common amongst the campus of university life.  It is something that almost everyone can relate to either from personal experience or through friends’ experiences, but in most cases there is always the ultimate question of are one night stands really moral?
Had this not been 2009 and we had been in our grandparents generation there would be absolutely no question as to whether or not they were moral; flat out they would be wrong.  In the past issues like sex were taboo to begin with so even the thought of a one night stand was no doubtfully immoral.  However, this is 2009, and in today’s world sex and other similar issues are becoming much less taboo and more acceptable to talk about freely.  With this openness comes a much less conservative attitude toward actions and with that the acceptability of promiscuous behaviour.  This mindset allows the one-night-stand concept to become much acceptable in our modern day society which, in many minds, also makes it morally acceptable.
There are many different views on one night stands and whether they are moral or not.  Studies have been done showing that after the act men tend to feel euphoric and experience positive feelings while women often feel cheap, easy and a plethora or other negative feelings.  Does this apply to whether or not one night stands are moral?  It depends on the feelings before the act.  If both parties were consenting to the terms of a one night stand, that it would be casual sex with no strings attached, and not expecting anything more of the situation, then these feelings don’t apply.  However, if one party was under false pretenses and experiences these feelings afterwards, then this does bleed back to the moral factor.  That party may have thought that one night stands were immoral but was under the impression that what they were partaking in was not just a mere one night stand.  In this sense the act would have been immoral, since both parties were not consenting and aware of the terms.
Many people who consider one night stands immoral give reasons such as that the people are only using each other and that it lessens the deeper meaning of sex.  These things may be true for some individuals, but not all.  Many people consider one night stands to be morally acceptable if both people involved are okay with the idea, neither party is in a relationship and would therefore be committing adultery, and the people take precautions and do it safely.
In the end what it comes down to is not whether society considers one night stands morally right or wrong, but what each individual considers to be morally right and wrong.  This is a common idea amongst many issues, and although society is accepting the behaviour of one night stands more than in the past, it is up to each unique person to decide what is moral for them and what is not.

Karly MacLeod