Robert, Say a girl has a boyfriend who is a sailor, or is out of the country for six months. Could she see someone else, freely in the meantime, or should she wear a chastity belt? And, anyway, should people be as faithful? I mean, we're not all swingers, but you do meet people you might never meet again in your iife and you might only have a few hours with them, even if you do have someone else. Maybe women could be just as impulsive as men in that circumstance?
What an odd question. It would depend on whether they are in an open relationship or not wouldn't it? There's no black and white answer to it.
But, will all relationships be more open, in the future? It did say in TNG, that people didn't own each other as much in relationships. Would they all appear to be swingers, or at least very free? I think, from what I have heard, that the sailor scenario, would be liked by women. I mean, the sailor couldn't be expected to go without for six months, we should she? And nothing would be said about it, when they met up again? Just fulfilling a desire? It nearly happened to me, with a woman with a sailor boyfriend, once.
I think people will do what they prefer. Who can say if open relationships will become more common? That depends on too many things to speculate about.
If you are asking if the human race is going to abandon monogamy, then I would say no, not en masse, not any time soon. Just because something has become more socially acceptable doesn't mean everyone is suddenly going to start doing it, but it's more widely socially acceptable now than maybe 50 years ago.. And fidelity is as important now as it has ever been, and always will be. And by fidelity I mean honesty, not monogamy.
Not all masculine traits are bad, but it's true that nearly all murderers, rapists and the like are men. I'd say that the problem is overt masculinity, rather than masculinity in itself. Society wouldn't function as well if all men suddenly disappeared, even if you ignore reproduction. The masculine jobs need to be done as well. Of course, women would eventually adapt to the situation. The same goes for the opposite situation. There are some biological differences in personality between men and women, but they are smaller than as traditionally seen. Women are expected to care for children more than men in most cultures, and men are seen as the more aggressive gender in most cultures. There is some truth to the gender stereotypes, but most folk fall somewhere in between "pure masculinity" and "pure femininity".
But, I bet, by the 24thC, the sailor scenario could happen with the woman 'grabbing a bit', just once, or even twice, and nothing would be said about it, even if the bloke found out. And, he wouldn't get the hosepipe out!
Put him in the scuppers with a hose-pipe on him Put him in the scuppers with a hose-pipe on him Put him in the scuppers with a hose-pipe on him Earl-aye in the morning Way hay and up she rises Way hay and up she rises Way hay and up she rises Earl-aye in the morning
Only within the bounds of an established agreement, plenty of examples of which already exist right now, you don't need the 24th century for that. Lying or concealing something is not going to suddenly become socially acceptable. And if it is necessary to conceal an affair then it stands to reason that the person being deceived is not going to be OK with it.
And traditionally, the only men that women are comfortable confiding in are gay. This would seem to convey an underlying discomfort with male heterosexuality; as if men that have a general sexual desire for women cannot be trusted with women. I don't know that women are more easily forgiven than men. So much of it depends upon the context of the relationship and what each partner is looking for. However, it's definitely true that some women frequently can't take a hint when they're with a repeat offender. To broadly generalize: A man would be more humiliated to be repeatedly cuckolded like that. A woman would take solace in being able to hold onto a cheating man so long as he came home to her in the end.
^Such a good show. Too bad we're unlikely to see anything like that ever again. Every show today has to have a 23 year old hottie.
I find the comment about women confiding in gay men to be quite true. I find it extremely easy to connect deeply with women and begin confiding, and vice versa it seems, even very early in the relationship/acquaintance. I think this connects to sexuality because mine is a sort of vanguard against the usual boy-girl drama and expectations. I become a figure that not only would never be sexually into her and thus play no tricks or games in the sex and romance department, but also one that she can converse with about and do things with that would normally be deemed "gross," inappropriate, or "unladylike" should she do them in the presence of other men. Women face these pressures all over, and they are quite palpable, be they simple interactions or long-term pressures like appearance and lifestyle. People are still expected to uphold such institutions of gender nowadays, and we still "do" gender whether we want to or not. You feel more connected with someone when they share personal information or experiences. The average gay guy-straight woman friendship is loaded with graphic talk of periods and penises, and these are topics which I am pretty sure don't come up very often between straight men and women, but are very easy to bond over.
'Mork calling Orson, come in Orson!!' I think in some places, women are not really supposed to ask men out, as they are not supposed to be open about their sexuality, as someone else said. Men are supposed to do the asking and in some cases, basically make their mind up for them, from what I can see. And there are still vestiges of the attitude that women are possessions. Wasn't it only 150 years ago, in 'The Mayor of Casterbridge', that Michael Henchard sold his wife? And, to address the point of women having two boyfriends on the go at once, didn't Madonna say, after divorcing Guy Ritchie, that she wasn't going to be one man's bitch? A bit of a contradiction, there, but I can she what she wants. Cold make it more exciting and competitive!