How to be Equal in Adultery

It's not just the rich or famous who stray although they may have more opportunity. The woman living next door, sitting at the next desk, or in line at the grocery, may be cheating. It's becoming common to read about wives who cheat or hear them discussing their betrayals on national television.

On a television talk show, a woman said she was cheating on her husband because she needed more attention than he gave her. Her husband's job required that he do extensive traveling. She could deal with him being gone much of the time, but she couldn't deal with his lack of attention when he returned home. Her identity was hidden from viewers because she didn't want to risk her husband learning of her infidelity.

A second woman, whose identity wasn't hidden, said her first husband divorced her due to her infidelity. She said his "lack of attention" caused her to cheat. She said if her current husband stopped being attentive she might cheat again.

Are women equal when it comes to adultery? Is their betrayal worse than their husband's or the same? Society has generally turned a blind eye to male infidelity. Not so women who betray their vows. A man who cheats is virile. A woman who cheats is "loose" or worse. One is given an "attaboy!" and the other is branded with a scarlet "A."

Decades past, women held the marriage together, waiting at home for their straying husbands to return. Some of their daughters and granddaughters are taking a different approach.