Lust in Translation The Rules of Infidelity from Tokyo to Tennessee

by Druckerman, Pamela

• ISBN13: 9781594201141
• ISBN10: 1594201145
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-04-19
• Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The

Summary

A strange and surprising journey around the world to examine how and why people cheat on their spouses. This global look at infidelity truly reveals a puritanical America From Memphis to Moscow, when it comes to infidelity the statistics tell the story. People cheat on their spouses-in fact, they cheat with astonishing frequency. But even illicit love has rules, and these rules change radically from country to country. Acclaimed journalist Pamela Druckerman decided to investigate extramarital affairs all around the world to discover how different cultures deal with adultery-and her research leads her to believe that both the concept and the consequences of infidelity are far less rigid outside the United States. Americans, she decides, are the least adept at having affairs, have the most trouble enjoying them, and, in the end, suffer the most as a result of them. The rules of fidelity aren't as strict in many other parts of the world because some cultures have found ways to acknowledge that adultery is an expected, if not acceptable, part of the marriage contract. The French, contrary to popular belief, have affairs at about the same rate as Americans do, and they're just as titillated by sex scandals. Although the subject of infidelity is still very taboo there, unlike Americans, they refuse to moralize about it. In Russia, staying faithful to one's spouse is merely optional; one poll stated 50 percent of men and 25 percent of women have cheated on their current spouse, to say nothing of previous marriages. In Japan, Druckerman discovers that two-person futons and mattresses aren't even for sale in most stores, and the saying among businessmen is "If you pay, it's not cheating." Some Japanese marriage counselors hire prostitutes to teach women how to lure their husbands home. Pamela Druckerman, formerly a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, has done her homework. She's interviewed people from all over the world, from retirees in south Florida to polygamist Muslims in Indonesia, from ultra-orthodox Jews in Brooklyn to residents of a concubine village outside Hong Kong. She takes us on a journey all around the world, talking with sexologists, psychologists, marriage counselors, and most of all, cheaters and the people they've cheated on, only to discover that America is still a place with surprisingly outdated ideals. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, many cultures are more accepting of the fact that a monogamous marriage is an incredibly difficult contract to keep.

Author Biography

Pamela Druckerman is a former staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal. She has a Master's in International Affairs from Columbia University, and has reported from S-ïo Paulo, Buenos Aires, Jerusalem, Paris and New York. She lives in Paris.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Lust in Translation	p. 1
Welcome to America	p. 11
Lies, Damn Lies, and Adultery	p. 37
Sexual Cultures	p. 65
The Marriage-Industrial Complex	p. 91
Death of the "Five to Seven"	p. 111
The Obligatory Affair	p. 145
Mystery of the Single Futon	p. 169
We Must Have a Spare One at Least	p. 197
God in the Bedroom	p. 223
A Sexual Revolution	p. 251
Conclusion: Home Sweet Home	p. 271
Acknowledgments	p. 279
Bibliography	p. 283
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