Double standard

The mother of all double standards as far as women are concerned must be the promiscuity one. If a man sleeps around, he gets kudos from his mates for being a 'Jack the Lad'. After all, he's only doing what they would like to be able to do! At worst, he might be labelled a cad or bounder by the women folk (or a player in America).

However, if a woman does likewise, she is branded a slut, a harlot, a floozy, a whore, a hoe, a slapper, a tramp, a slag, a tart or a trollop (you get the idea) by her peers. Of course, guys think that the harlot is great for a one night stand! However, they like to think that their girlfriend/wife is purer than the driven snow.

This double standard is shown in the graph above. A guy's reputation is generally enhanced as the notches appear on the bedpost while a woman's suffers by the same token. Personally, I try to abide by my mother's exhortation, "stay away from the floozies"! Not that I've had much choice in the matter anyway!!!