More People Cheating than Ever Before

Eternal monogamy: the beloved ideal that about a quarter of Americans find impossible to uphold. Marital infidelity is on the rise, according to the New York Times. Since 1972, the General Social Survey has consistently found that about 10 percent of married people cheat, with men cheating almost twice as often as women (12 percent to 7 percent).
But analyzing infidelity trends over the last two decades has shown some marked changes. In 2006, 28 percent of men over 60 reported cheating at some point in their lives, compared to 20 percent in 1991 (Viagra went on the market ten years ago). And among older women, incidences of cheating have increased triplefold—from 5 percent to 15 percent.

We can’t chock this increased infidelity up to boredom after a silver anniversary because the trend holds true for couples under 35 as well. 20 percent of young men and 15 percent of young women now report treating, compared to 15 percent and 12 percent two decades ago.

Theories about the reasons for increased cheating largely center on the advent of the Internet and cell phones, which have made it easier to coordinate extra-marital encounters. But the marked increase in women’s infidelity is harder to explain: are women cheating more now because they are more likely to go on business trips or stay late at the office? Or are they simply more likely to report their infidelities now that there is less (though still much) social pressure for women to be chaste while men are applauded for their sexual exploits?

Whatever the reason, I must admit that I’m looking on the bright side of this increase in female infidelity. I’m certainly no champion of extra-marital affairs, but it happened at these relatively high rates even in hunting and gathering societies. So, if cheating must happen, why should men be the only ones in whom it is expected and even, to do some degree, accepted?