Infidelity the norm?

Infidelity has always been a favorite topic of trashy tabloid peddlers. Of course they love infidelity stories because the people love it. Its especially satisfying when the couple is married and seemingly has everything going for them. The higher the couple is on the social standing totem pole, the more gratifying it is to knock them down. The tabloids and the people are having a great year. Tiger Woods, Jesse James, John Edwards (the list goes on) are all having extramarital affairs. How wonderful for the general public and the parasitic media.

Its interesting that the reported offenders are always men. There's another common myth out there that men cheat and women cry. If you have the displeasure of reading MSN or Yahoo dating articles (stop reading. Its anything but expert advice), you'll occasionally come across articles with titles like "why do men cheat?" Yes men do cheat...but so do women. I know women cheat because I and many of my friends have had sex with women that have boyfriends and husbands. Maybe your girlfriend or wife :) If so, sorry about that. Some of these women have husbands risking their necks in Iraq and Afghanistan. But Adam you say, these women are "BAD" women. "Good" women behave. I don't know about all that. Good and Bad are very general terms that people like using to make sense in a senseless universe. Its not really fair to peg a person as entirely bad or entirely good. Sure you have your Joseph Stalins and Adolph Hitlers, but most people are alright, and pretty much everyone has different sides of themselves; some positive and some not. We have all done things in our past that we are not proud of and most of us have done some good as well.

On the top of the not proud of list, most would add cheating. However, I'm going to propose something that may surprise and shock. You shouldn't feel THAT bad. Humans weren't really meant to live under the monogamy myth. What is this myth you ask? The myth of monogamy is that you can find one person that fulfills you physically, mentally, and spiritually, so much so, that you either forget about other members of the opposite sex or you can be happy with that one person FOREVER. This is a nice story to tell yourself, but Its also a bullshit story. You will absolutely be attracted to members of the opposite sex (not including your partner) for the rest of your days. Given the opportunity you will have sex with these people. Its no mistake that most cheating occurs on vacation or business trips, where one most likely won't have to deal with any aftermath.

Infidelity occurs far too often to be only done by "bad" people. The people that have affairs are not bad people, but are made to FEEL bad by others, who given the opportunity would do the same. People will claim until their dying day that they would NEVER cheat, because it goes against the Disney story we are supposed to be living; but Its just not true. Not everyone has the opportunity. This lack of opportunity stems from the possibility of social repercussions and/or the inability to attract. The social repercussions are self-explanatory. Inability to attract is fairly simple. Some guys have no game (some women too, but far fewer.) Many guys get married because they are scared that no other woman could ever love them or they believe they will lose their ability to attract women. Very sad indeed for these men and their wives.

My favorite cheater is Tiger Woods. Tiger, like so many others bought into the Disney story and then found out it was a lie. He couldn't be happy with one woman, regardless of her beauty or charm. It would never be enough. Luckily he had EVERY opportunity to have sex with beautiful women and so he took it. Tiger didn't need much game, because he had massive social status backing him up. However, he didn't fear the social repercussions and paid for it dearly. What's really sad is that people feel so justified knocking down Tiger. The attitude is "oh well he cheated, he DESERVES to be crucified. I'd never do that." Bullshit. You'll cheat if you can attract and get away with it.

The women involved in celebrity affairs usually have very little trouble coming forward. Its funny, but a woman having sex with a high profile guy doesn't lose any status. If she fucks the plumber and gets caught, you just WATCH what happens in her social circle. The women in high profile sex scandals are typically portrayed as victims. The attitude is something like... "well she had to fuck him. After all, he was Tiger." This nonsense stems from the idea that women are the victims of sexual advances by men. The higher his status, the less her responsibility and the more victimized she is. The women weren't attracted to these men? The women are every bit as responsible, but it is seldom spun that way. Our culture says that men want sex more than women and women just want love. Excuse me for a moment...I feel nauseas. Is it any mystery why MSN reports "the men who cheat and why."? Its truly a two way street unless you're into blow up dolls.

Cultural myths aside, humans are biological beings. We shit, we puke, we eat, and when our genetics benefit we fuck. Yes we, men and women alike, are animals. We are simply animals with consciousness and the ability to spin our own (sometimes destructive) myths. Before you point your finger at these celebrities for cheating, you might want to ask yourself this question. What are your opportunities and what would you do if there were no consequences?

and what do the Australians think?