BY Lux Alptraum
October 11, 2007
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2 Comments

Jezebel has a post on attitudes about cheating, complete with links to both Salon and Nerve pieces and some commentary on how the French are just so much more relaxed about the whole cheating thing.

As fascinating as Anglo-Franco differences may be, we’re not actually all that interested in people’s reactions to cheating. What’s far more intriguing, as far as we’re concerned, is how we determine what constitutes cheating.

For instance: let’s say we have two couples. Couple A has been together for a long time, and though they love each other very much and want to stay together, they’re both a little bored with the status quo. As a result, they’ve chosen to taken on lovers to allow them get the sex they really want — with the understanding and consent of their partners.

Couple B, on the other hand, is monogamous. However, after a particularly bad fight, one half of the couple meets up with an ex-lover and, after a perfectly chaste dinner, ends up engaging in a not so chaste good night kiss.

Who are the cheaters here? We’d say Couple B, but that’s probably not the universal answer. In our minds, cheating is more about intention, and the betrayal of trust, than about specific acts. But that’s just us: what do you think?

[Photo by benhuh]