In times past, when a spouse strayed, the dirty rotten scoundrel was most often the man.  This is still the case but a recent study says that in 2006, more women than ever have admitted to adulterous affairs.  Are women getting friskier or just more inclined to kiss and tell?

The National Science Foundation sponsored a University of Chicago study, the General Social Survey, which included the question of extramarital affairs.  Data from the 2006 survey were compared to a similar survey conducted in 1972.  It seems some married men still stray and they’re doing so in larger numbers than ever before but the girls are gaining ground.

In 1972, 20% of the men surveyed, age 60 and over, said they’d engaged in at least one extramarital affair during their lifetimes and that number jumped by 8%, to 28% admitting affairs in 2006.  The number of women age 60 and over admitting to an extramarital affair tripled between 1972 and 2006, going from 5% in 1972 to 15% in 2006.

The younger generation seems to be following the lead of the older one, with 20% of all men age 35 and younger admitting to adultery and one in seven younger women making similar confessions.  While the survey identified only the trend, the people behind it can only speculate as to why married couples are more unfaithful than ever before.

Women in movies, on TV, and making the headlines today are projecting an image of females and their sexuality in much less modest views than previous portrayals.  Adulterous men of the past were often seen as virile and strong while adulterous women were scandalous and shunned for their tawdry behavior.

The rapid decline of this fading image of female fidelity may be shaped by the communications technologies that make today’s communications intimate but distanced at the same time.  Cell phones, e-mail, and instant messaging makes romance quick and easy but much easier to conceal than phone calls and messages exchanged before computers.

Tom Smith, director of the survey team at the University of Chicago, suggests modern employment patterns may be an equalizing factor.  Men have traditionally held jobs that kept them at the office for long hours or on the road for business travel, two situations that made it easy to hide an affair from their wives.  It’s not unusual for women today to hold similar jobs, increasing their romantic opportunities, too.