Infidelity

Infidelity is a very common thing, so common that is almost an acceptable behavior in our society now- unless, it affects us directly, or those who we are close to. That is not to say it is a 'good', behavior- just that we all know and accept that some people cheat.My perception of what makes infidelity attractive is all about the thrill of the chase and secrecy. Its exciting because you are deceiving your partner and getting away with it, its something new and different, you can take on a new persona- try things your to embarrassed to confront your partner with.In most relationships your partner is the one person you can be truly honest with, you can be the real you. I believe that most of us have separate public personalities which conform to some extent to what is expected of us by society. With our partners we can just be. If this is not the case and we don't feel that it is acceptable to reveal our true selves to our partners the infidelity could be a way to get around this and feel a sense of freedom.But the same things that make infidelity attractive also mean that these new relationships (if you can call them that) are often short lived, because the novelty which drew you in to start with soon wears off, either that or your partner finds out or is close to finding out which which either shocks you back to reality or sucks the fun right out.My definition of infidelity is based around 'sex', the phrase 'you can look, but don't touch' is important. At some point we all find other people attractive, that's not wrong. What is wrong is actively pursuing another person with the intent to cheat. A little bit of flirting is ok, its when you intend to take it beyond flirting- because eventually you will succeed and cheat.In order to cheat you have to betray your partner, you have to break their trust and expectations of you- if your in a relationship where your partner knows and expects you to cheat I don't think its cheating- it can only be infidelity if you go against the wishes and expectations of your partner. At the end of the day if your in a committed relationship there is a mutual understanding that you will be monogamous- unless you have both clearly stated otherwise, so if you break this you are betraying your partner. IN ALL HONESTY THOUGH- IT'S AN APPEALING CONCEPT, SOMETHING EXCITING- DEVIOUS, HAVING YOUR CAKE AND EATING IT TOO, the only down side is getting caught and lets face it- you enevitably will (usually sooner, rather than later).