Sexual double standards β in which women and men are judged differently for the same sexual behavior β will probably sound familiar to most people. Women who do the same, on the other hand, risk sullying their social reputations. Thanks to the way men get a pass for their promiscuity, you might assume men are more likely to rationalize their own cheating than women.
Relative to women, they have a stronger desire for sexual variety , which shows up in their sex drive, the number of partners they seek out, their tendency to fantasize about different women and their patronage of prostitutes. Yet versions of this sexual double standard persist, even in the most sexually egalitarian countries on Earth, such as Norway. You might think that this reveals the usual sexual double standard, in which women are evaluated more harshly than men for the same conduct.
It turns out that just as women are equal participants in the me-versus-thee double standard, they also help perpetuate the traditional male-versus-female double standard. For example, my research team conducted a series of studies and found that women are somewhat more likely than men to condemn cheating and casual sex.
However, women in many cultures are significantly harsher on other women than men are on other men. David M. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Skip to main content The mating game often involves convoluted rationalizations. Commentary Sexual double standards β in which women and men are judged differently for the same sexual behavior β will probably sound familiar to most people.
