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Infidelity among Women

Contrary to the popular perception, infidelity doesn't always involve the wife sitting at home waiting for the philandering husband to come home. According to a recent poll by WomanSavers.com, about 50% of the time, it's the woman who cheats. Women's rates of infidelity are almost as high as men's, 50% to men's 55%, according to most estimates.

It hasn't always been this way. It used to be true that men cheated much more than women. What accounts for the change? Two elements have contributed to men's and women's increasing equality in this area: culture and opportunity.

Culture. In the past forty or fifty years, women have experienced more sexual freedom than ever before. They are no longer necessarily expected to preserve their virginity until marriage, and they no longer have to fear pregnancy with every sexual encounter. Women have been encouraged to explore their sexuality, even if that's done outside the limits of marriage.

Opportunity. For the past few generations, women have moved out of the home in droves. Most women work outside the home, even if they have children. In the workplace, the classroom, or even in their neighborhood, women have the chance to meet many more men than just those in their family. They now spend time with men who might appeal to them emotionally or sexually.

Recent social changes have women reaching toward equality with men in almost every way. Our ideas of what men and women do need to change to reflect the reality of contemporary society.