[familyop]

Newsweek celebrates the liberation of women from the oppression men once put them through. [Sarcasm and irony directed at both male and female feminist/romanticist idiots. The "oppression" myth is a revisionist myth.]

There's much more about it behind the link to the news page--several more pages about it. ...really evil stuff but so much a part of what most in our nation not only legalized a long time ago, but seem to want.

[mewzilla]

Don't fret :) This story says more about Newsweek readers than it does the nation.

[OpusatFR]

I have seen this often over the years. I think it has to do more with selfishness than anything else. I've seen marriages collapse when spouses are confronted by the sheer mediocrity of life decade after decade, when problems arise, when the future simply doesn't match youthful expectations.

The concept of marriage as a joining, or oneness has suffered as both seek a singular path rather than being partners and helping each other grow. Material pursuits often take precedence over the family or the individual. I realize that houses are obscenely expensive and cars cost as much as my first home, but there has to be a limit on grasping for things rather than providing for family.
Newly marrieds often want things now that have taken decades for us to acquire over time.

There are limits in life. There is the progression of time and the unveiling of character over decades. Impatience and selfishness have to be overcome in order to create a lasting marriage.

I don't see that happening in the future. Each generation seems to be more obsessed with self-fulfillment rather than working to overcome difficulties that inevitably arise when two people marry.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Actually, more than one person. It started with an old friend, whom she began meeting every several months for long dinners and some heavy petting. Then she began giving herself permission to flirt with, kiss—well, actually, make out with—men she met on business trips. She understands it's a "Clintonian" distinction, but she won't have sex with anyone except her husband, whom she loves.

Okay. She is stealing from him, she is Cheating on him and she is abusing him. But she claims to "love" him.

If that is love I don't want to know what she calls hate. Humans can be a sick bunch.

[mgist]

I can't understand why there is no mention about the effects on children when there is infidelity within a marriage. That is ridiculous.

[angkor]

she won't have sex with anyone except her husband, whom she loves.

Somehow I don't see her husband agreeing with her definition of love ... or "sex" for that matter.

[goldstategop]

"I had an affair before remembering it wasn't an affair."

[driftless]

The writers of this article didn't make their anti-male bias too obvious did they? (ha,ha) Yes, all recently married women with children lead horrible lives thanks to their awful husbands who treat them like dirt. So naturally it's only understandable that they cheat on their husbands because their filthy, women-hating, oppressive mates treat them in a terrible way. That's what these obviously NOW-loving scribblers really wanted to say.

[foolscap]

I am a single woman and most of my female friends are also. It is interesting to see that many of them are involved with married men. They tend to feel there is something wrong with me that I will not do likewise. My reply to this is that most own sense of self respect will not allow me to be involved with a man who is committed to another. I tell them they are on a no win path which they usually don't see until it becomes real to them. There is nothing like spending all your holidays alone or having a partner who you can not turn to in times of trouble because his wife might find out.

This guys all say the same thing "My wife is cold" or "My wife does not understand me" or "My wife will take the house if I get divorced" or "We are together for the kids" or "My wife and I have not has sex in 15 years" The list is endlessly repetitive. I look at it from the point of view that if your wife is bearing your children, cleaning your house, cooking your meals, and usually working a job and putting out when your in the mood what more do you want. Don't these women deserve some respect simply for the amount of work they do?

My friends cannot see this because they buy these guys stories.They feel I am something of a loser because I'd rather be alone than be someone's piece on the side. It's a pity they have so little respect for themselves and are so afraid of being alone that they will give themselves to the lowest bidder. What my friends don't get is that if these men did divorce it does not mean they will come running to them. In fact usually the opposite is true.

[Alia]

Dear Family Op; it's a good article you posted, and thanks. Over a period of 3 years, I observed two once close "girl friends" go exactly the path described in the article. Firsthand insight here; these women had nothing substantive to complain about - No money worries; hubbies fixed everything, hubbies were devoted to the children. Took vacations regularly; drove new if not excellent cars. I guess they thought it was a "lifestyle" (seeing other men) they could maintain. It devastated both sets of children, ultimately. One thing; both women were fun women. Meaning, they lived for the good times. Neither women had much of a deeper inner sense of direction or perspective; outside of shopping; and looking "good" when stacked against the Jones's. Even on a court stand, one woman openly admitted to her adultery; (which is why hubby was seeking to dissolve the marriage); still, the courts nearly granted the offending parent (the female) full custody of the children.

And never forget: It' "just sex". Clinton legacy and repercussions yet continue.

[foolscap]

Veronica, now 35, took up with a wealthy businessman she met at a Dallas nightclub. Her lover gave her everything her husband didn't: compliments, Tiffany jewelry, flowers and love notes. It was, in fact, the flowers that did her in.

Isn't that a sad commentary. Romantic gestures are nice but over all they are meaningless. I have never been very impressed with the hearts and flowers routine. I'd vastly prefer someone who was a good friend who I could actually talk to. The sort of junk she is falling for does not last but she is throwing away her husband and children for an illusion. People seem to think that happiness in relationships should be handed to them on a silver platter with no effort on their part. These women are chasing after a myth that does not exist. If they actually married these guys they would find that after a time life again would become boring again. That's just the way it is. It is once you get past all the romantic dreams that one can actually get down to the real business of learning to love.

[HenryLeeII]

Then she began giving herself permission to flirt with, kiss—well, actually, make out with—men she met on business trips. She understands it's a "Clintonian" distinction, but she won't have sex with anyone except her husband, whom she loves.

Let me start off by saying that I do not condone rape or date rape, but "Erin" is playing with fire because some men don't understand her little "Clintonian" distinction, and aren't going to stop at heavy petting (people such as Clinton, himself, who is known to have forced himself on Juanita Broaderick and possibly others).

[Hemingway's Ghost]

I love how Clinton's name is sprinkled all over that story. What a legacy that man left . . .

[gathersnomoss]

"She understands it's a "Clintonian" distinction, but she won't have sex with anyone except her husband"

Pardon me for saying this....so she is first chair in the skin-flute section. So much for committment. Toss her little things out into the street.

Table for one for Mr. Bitter.

[cyborg]

There's so much that I can say about such an article.

[VRWC_minion]

Is this groundwork in case Mrs. Kerry has been having an affair ?

[longtermmemmory]

which only shows that women who are liberal, democrats, and feminists should not be considered for marriage.

I submit this much vaunted "marriage strike" of men is not a true strike. It is an exclusion of such unacceptable women.

[Lorianne]

Cheating doesn't have anything to do with "liberation" or feminism any more than it does when men cheat.

Both men and women can rationalize poor choices. Cheating is just cheating ... no matter if men or women do it.

[philosofy123]

I get several e-mails per day inviting me to have sex with married women who love sex. I am assuming it is simply a con game for a porn site; however, it appears that ALL women are doing it! Not! Only women with no moral values, may be liberal Demon-Rat women?

[NYCVirago]

They include Carmela Soprano in the cheating wives story, even though she never slept with anybody until she was legally separated from, and planning on divorcing, her husband. That doesn't really fit with the story.

[NYCVirago]

Ironically, the realities of the overprogrammed life make it easier, not harder, to fool around. When days are planned to the minute, it's a cinch to pencil in a midday tryst—and remember to wear the lace-edged underwear—at least compared with trying to stay awake and in the mood through "Law & Order."

This doesn't even make sense. If these people are so busy, busy, busy, how do they make time for affairs? The reality is that they're not that busy if they've got time to cheat.