The University of Ottawa recently performed a study of 23 undergraduates (seems like a small sample, eh? Canadian joke!) to see what they thought about the various types of casual relationships that are gaining popularity in today’s society. They categorized the types of relationships as friends with benefits, booty calls, one-night stands, and f***-buddies, and then asked the students what their opinions were on each of the types of relationships.

They found that while all the relationships would be considered “casual,” they all have different unspoken rules (not unlike our Booty Call Commandments) the relationship doesn’t lose control and plummet into the ground at 300 miles an hour.

Via the Ottawa Citizen, here are the rules for each of the relationships:

One-night stand

• The partners are not already friends or acquainted. Alcohol is not necessarily involved.

• There is no discussion of what each partner wants out of the relationship.

• Staying overnight is acceptable but that’s it. (“You wake up and leave. You don’t stay and have coffee and breakfast or anything like that,” said one participant.)

• Typically, there is no further contact and no need to terminate the relationship, although on occasion these develop into committed relationships. If the partners meet again for sex, the relationship is considered a booty call.

Booty call

• The partners know each other and at least one has the other’s phone number, but they are not friends.

• Alcohol is commonly involved.

• Monogamy is not discussed or expected.

• A cellphone is the cost common form of contact, usually a text message, which minimizes fear of rejection. The purpose of the visit may not be explicitly stated. The initiator may call if he (it’s usually a he) is too drunk to compose a text message. The recipient, who is known as the “booty call,” must respond in the affirmative.

• There are few or no emotionally intimate acts such as hand-holding or kissing.

• There is no need to terminate the relationship. It’s over when one or the other partner decides not to call, or to ignore a call.

• It is acceptable to call from a bar, or leave after a booty call and socialize with friends.

• Booty calls are not necessarily added as Facebook friends because they are not friends.

F*** buddy

• A long-term booty call may evolve into a F*** buddy relationship, and this may develop into a friendship. (“I think a booty call is once in a while. If it’s more often than that, say a couple of times a week or more than that, then I think you would call it a f*** buddy,” said one participant.)

• A f*** buddy is more likely to be added as a friend on Facebook than a booty call. Partners will agree as to what information may be publicly shared with a wider audience.

• A f*** buddy is considered a closer relationship than a booty call. The partners may engage in social activities such as going to a movie.

• There is no need for a formal termination of the relationship. If there is a friendship, it is likely to lapse.

• As the partners meet more than once for sex, the possibility of a dating relationship (hand-holding, romance, dinner) decreases.

Friends with benefits

• Partners had a pre-existing friendship before the sexual relationship.

• The parameters of the relationship are discussed before sex is initiated. Although there is an expectation that the relationship won’t become romantic, it is understood that this possibility may create problems.

• Friends with benefits are not necessarily monogamous, but they must inform the other partner if they get involved with someone else.

• Alcohol may be involved in the initiation of the sexual relationship.

• Discretion is expected. The partners may terminate their sexual relationship if mutual friends find out about it because the relationship may endanger the group dynamic.

• The partners can socialize with each other without any intention to have sex.

Seems like a pretty solid analysis of the various types of relationships to us! And the interesting part is how students believe that the relationships can evolve, like say a one-night stand could become a full-fledged monogamous relationship, and a booty call could become a f***-buddy.

Of course, there are always exceptions to the rules, like say when a booty call ends up becoming a relationship (as happens nearly every week according to our testiMOANials), but we’d say the Ottawa Citizen, and the students of U of O have formed a pretty standard set of rules for each of the types of relationships. We’re printing these out and putting them on index cards for future reference. You should too.

Image via Glamour