Are Men Cheating More Than Women?

This is the Part 2 of the TLG Cheating Myths series. You can find Part 1 here.

In the last part I discussed whether cheating happens because we are unhappy at home, and the findings were rather interesting. Read about it here. In Part 2 we are discussing the ancient myth that men are cheating more than women. Is that really so, even in 2008? In the old days, it was definitely the case, and when I talk about the old days, I mean the 60s, 50s and even before that. It was a different time then, but does time change man? When you read the news today you hear all about some war going on somewhere which just shows we never learn. Does the myth still hold truth in 2008?

Let me be clear, men cheat still, so I guess some never learn. The statistics I am about to show you might indicate better times or worse times depending on what you are looking for. In the year 1997, 5 percent of men and 3 percent of women reported having sex with someone else other than their husband or wife. 22% of married men have had an affair at least once during their married life and 14 % of women. In 2002 Atwood & Schwartz published the Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy. They revealed that 45-55% of married women and 50-60% of married men engage in extramarital sex at some point or another during their relationship. What you can see from these numbers, it has stabilized and judging by the numbers it seems like women soon, if they haven’t already, will pass men in the cheating statistics.

Why do women cheat almost as much as men now? Why is it stabilizing? Because the ideals of womanhood has changed. Look at a hip hop video on TV and you see the woman in little clothes looking hot. The same goes for the stars like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera which no doubt has an effect on what is “allowed”. The fact is that women are the new men and they are cheating for the same reasons as men and it is exciting and it feels naughty which is a turn on for many women. Recent studies also suggest that women looks at it like rewards for a living long in a emotionless non-satisfying relationship. They want excitement and unfortunately their chase for excitement sometimes ruins lives. Cheating expert Tracey Cox says that most women do feel guilty after doing the dirty deed, but most women get away with it because they are better at telling lies.

To answer the myth: Yes and No. According to the latest statistics which is from 2002, the men are still ahead, but judging by the cheating stats over a number of years, the women should be worse than men now.

In part 3 we will kill or confirm the myth: Cheating is about sex! So stay tuned!