Half-Assed Philosophy: Cheating and Women

I saw a question on Advicenators recently that led me to think seriously (for about fifteen seconds) about infidelity. Whoops! That didn't come out quite right. I meant about the topic of infidelity.

Specifically, the genetic consequences of infidelity. I like thinking about evolutionary psychology, even though I'm not at all qualified; it's a fascinating field.

After pondering for a few minutes, I reached the conclusion that for a heterosexual couple in a theoretically monogamous relationship, infidelity is much more of a threat to the male than to the female.

(Panic attack: is this obvious? Am I making an idiot of myself? Probably.)

If the female is unfaithful, the male may, without knowing it, lose the chance to reproduce. That is, genetically speaking, a death sentence.

If the male is unfaithful, however, his spouse doesn't lose anything genetically; it is, after all, impossible for her to be deceived as to the parentage of her children. She knows that she's the mother, and at a minimum will know that the father may be one of several men. Her own reproduction is not threatened.

So it's worse for a man when a woman cheats, than for a woman when a man cheats.

I will now issue a couple of disclaimers:

1. Disease is a factor that I didn't include. What effect do you think it would have?

2. The emotional impact of infidelity is certainly something to be considered. Is a male who is unfaithful to his spouse more likely to leave her and any children they may have? Possibly. But the same applies to females - a woman who cheats is more likely to leave her spouse, too, and probably to the same degree of likelihood as a male. Isn't she?

Incidentally, I didn't answer the question on Advicenators. The only answer I could have given wasn't something that the questioner would want to hear. In my experience, that usually means a low rating or no rating at all. It's not worth it.

Half-Assed Philosophy: Cheating and Women

I saw a question on Advicenators recently that led me to think seriously (for about fifteen seconds) about infidelity. Whoops! That didn't come out quite right. I meant about the topic of infidelity.

Specifically, the genetic consequences of infidelity. I like thinking about evolutionary psychology, even though I'm not at all qualified; it's a fascinating field.

After pondering for a few minutes, I reached the conclusion that for a heterosexual couple in a theoretically monogamous relationship, infidelity is much more of a threat to the male than to the female.

(Panic attack: is this obvious? Am I making an idiot of myself? Probably.)

If the female is unfaithful, the male may, without knowing it, lose the chance to reproduce. That is, genetically speaking, a death sentence.

If the male is unfaithful, however, his spouse doesn't lose anything genetically; it is, after all, impossible for her to be deceived as to the parentage of her children. She knows that she's the mother, and at a minimum will know that the father may be one of several men. Her own reproduction is not threatened.

So it's worse for a man when a woman cheats, than for a woman when a man cheats.

I will now issue a couple of disclaimers:

1. Disease is a factor that I didn't include. What effect do you think it would have?

2. The emotional impact of infidelity is certainly something to be considered. Is a male who is unfaithful to his spouse more likely to leave her and any children they may have? Possibly. But the same applies to females - a woman who cheats is more likely to leave her spouse, too, and probably to the same degree of likelihood as a male. Isn't she?

Incidentally, I didn't answer the question on Advicenators. The only answer I could have given wasn't something that the questioner would want to hear. In my experience, that usually means a low rating or no rating at all. It's not worth it.