Gen Y Exploring Friends with Benefits Relationships

April 25, 2011 by Tamara Bell

[HTML1] Recent romantic comedies have depicted couples whose friendships evolve into sexual relationships with no strings attached. And naturally, complications arise. But how does a “friends with benefits” relationship work in the real world?

Dr. Rebecca Plante, Associate Professor of Sociology at Ithaca College, joins Keeping Up with Gen Y to talk about how young people are open to creative and adaptive sexual and romantic arrangements while at the same time they envision an eventual traditional relationship of marriage and children. And for couples thinking about adding sex to their friendship, she offers advice on what should be discussed prior to taking the plunge.

More about Dr. Rebecca Plante
Dr. Rebecca Plante, associate professor of sociology at Ithaca College, is the author of the book Sexualities in Context: A Social Perspective and coeditor of the books Doing Gender Diversity: Readings in Theory and Real-World Experience and Sexualities: Identities, Behaviors, and Society. Her areas of focus include the sociological development of the sexual self; the sociology of intimacy and connection; and beauty and the body. Currently she serves as the Book Review Editor of the Journal of Sex Research and is on the Editorial Board of the journal Sexualities. She also is working on a project about dating and sexuality among 18- to 27-year-olds.

In addition to her position at Ithaca College, Dr. Plante has been a Visiting Faculty Fellow in the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program at Cornell University, as well as having held a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Behavioral Science in the College of Medicine at the University of Kentucky.

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About Tamara Bell

Tamara Bell is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Y Gen Out Loud, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that provides a platform for Generation Yto discuss national politics and public policy issues.

Tamara began her journalism career as a staff reporter for the Dallas Times Herald. A few years later, she moved to York, Pa., as a political reporter for the York Dispatch, covering local, state, and national government as well as writing investigative stories for the mid-sized daily newspaper.

A Texas girl at heart, Tamara returned to Dallas a year later to work as press relations director for the re-election campaign of U.S. Rep. John Bryant. The next year, she moved to Austin and the Texas Legislature, where she stayed for 15 years. While at the Legislature, Tamara worked for Democratic House members as Chief-of-Staff and Press Secretary, and as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Senate State Affairs Committee chaired by a Republicansenator.

In 1996, Tamara became co-owner of a political newsletter covering state issues and elections. As Editor-in-Chief, Tamara helped shape the weekly publication into a must-read for state officials, legislative aides, and lobbyists. More recently, Tamara wrote a regular column analyzing coverage by the Texas Capitol Press Corps for an online political publication. She also works as a lecturer in the Advertising Department at The University of Texasat Austin.

Tamara has also been a judge for the 2010 Bright Ideas Award given by the Texas Daily Newspaper Association, served as a panelist at the Society of Professional Journalists 2010 Region 8 Conference where the theme was How to Save Journalism, and has been a guest lecture for the Advertising Department’s Internship course, speaking about the jobs outlook for graduating seniors.

Tamara earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin, and her B.A. in Journalism from Texas A&M University. She resides in Austin with her son, Jackson.

Tamara Bell is also the Host of Keeping Up with Gen Y on WomensRadio. Keeping Up with Gen Y offers discussions, interviews, and commentary about important issues of the day from the perspective of Generation Y (18-to 30-years-old). Aimed at all generations interested in learning about and inspiring young people, this show features professionals, experts, researchers, and members of Gen Y who share insights and experiences about the topics on the minds of today’s young adults.