Physical attraction undoubtedly plays an important role in a relationship. However, what role does it play in infidelity as both a cause and effect of cheating, and how do these roles differ between men and women? Below, we take a further look into how the physicals measure up.
Women Feel Threatened By Attractiveness
For a large part women are both directly and indirectly taught to view their own beauty as a point of personal value. Because of this physical determination of value, fellow women that are perceived as more attractive are considered more threatening because of their “higher value.” And while physical attraction is naturally expected to be associated with infidelity, it can sometimes be viewed as a momentary lapse, while an emotional betrayal cuts much deeper because the mistress is seen as replacement on an intimate level.
Attractive Women Are More Likely to “Upgrade”
Women that stray and commit adultery are more likely to end the legitimate relationship as a result. A major cause behind this is that a woman re-establishes or calibrates her personal worth via cheating. This ability to perceive that she can do better than her existing relationship could ultimately provide the confidence to cut ties and explore other possibilities.
Women are Twice as Likely to Rationalize Cheating
While men often associate the cause of cheating being related to the opportunity of infidelity, women are more likely to rationalize and justify their actions due to a feeling of higher value garnered from their affair. He may show that he appreciates her more or makes her feel more attractive. These train of thoughts lead us to believe that women, more than men, use a comparative point of view in which they ultimately are to led to what makes them feel more valuable. Conversely, cheating men are seen as more physical/primal and that is often times the root cause of an affair.
From an early age, it is ingrained in women that physical beauty is a selling point that in large part determines their personal worth. As a result, many women seek confirmation of their beauty or value from their spouse, and when this doesn’t occur, unhappiness may lead a woman to seek out somebody else. Conversely, men for a large part associate their own value with the respective beauty of their spouse. If a man feels as though the scale isn’t balanced in terms of physical looks, he is likely to feel threatened by outside competitors and may resort to “retention tactics” — both negative and positive.
The key to a successful relationship is to communicate so that both parties understand the cause of the other insecurities, so they can be worked through rather than becoming a cause for the emotional erosion of the relationship.
