Infidelity

In the United Kingdom monogamy is the law of the land. People, independant of their status or wealth, are allowed by law to marry only one person. In other parts of the world such as South Africa and some parts of the Middle East polygamy is allowed by law. Infidelity is therefore a culturally bound concept.

Infidelity has always been more acceptably committed by males than females. Many well known male figures, such as royals and politicians have been known to have mistresses. A good example of a high status male having a mistress is that of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles. The list is however endless.

It only takes watching one show of Jeremy Kyle to find out that infidelity is just as prominent amongst most of society. This ITV website playing the 'catch-up' editions (http://www.itv.com/Lifestyle/jeremykyle/default.htm) have some prime examples of infidelity including:Friday 5th October 'Confess you're a cheat or I'll prove I'm the father of your eldest daughter' : Tuesday 2nd October 'I'll prove I didn't abort another man's baby - the results' amongst many others.

Monogamy in my opinion is a strange concept when we reduce our behaviour to our basic instinct which is to reproduce. Psychologists believe that it is in our nature to have several partners in order to make the most of our genes and produce the strongest, healthiest offspring. Monogamy therefore goes against our nature. Yet even though monogamy contradicts our whole nature people feel hurt and humiliated if their patner has been found to be unfaithful. Maybe this is due to modern day pressure to have the perfect home, with the 2.5 children, the perfect husband and the perfect wife. Maybe it's due to the unrealistic love stories constantly bombarding us from every single film we watch.

Infidelity has become a more open concept in modern society. This may be due to the increased ways in which people looking for other relationships can meet. One contreversial website openly offers married people the oppportunity to have an affair. (http://www.illicitencounters.com/?gclid=CIaJ79ichZICFQUWuwodH2jK2Q).

I'm not sure whether I see infidelity as a bad thing or just people following their natural instincts.

Comment 2

This comment was left on https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=484742278888341717&postID=3305713906486560535&page=1 in response to a debate about the smoking ban.

Jess said...
I completely disagree that the smoking ban is a positive thing. In an already delicate economic state the government has once again done its best to close down as many pubs, clubs and restaurants as it can. I can understand that you may not want to smell of smoke, but non-smokers also have a choice to avoid places where they know there will be lots of smoke. I think it's disgusting that a person's rights can be taken away from them overnight. What next, is the question people need to be asking?
10 March 2008 17:45

Comment 1

This comment was left on https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4374473277605157484&postID=7463525233551957912&page=1 in response to a debate whether shoplifting should be considered a serious crime or not.

Jess said...
I completely disagree with many of the comments left above. Shoplifting is as serious as muggings. I work in a shop where the amount of shoplifters that we get is much higher than the average.I have personally had to deal with various shoplifters, this has resulted in verbal and physical assault to myself. I have been threatened, I have been followed home, I've had one customer make a move to hit me and mounds and mounds of verbal abuse.I can tell you now, there's nothing petty and nice about shoplifters as was suggested in a few comments, they are criminals, prepared to go to any length it takes to get the goods they want.
10 March 2008 10:31

The Smoking Ban- A healthy answer or a dictatorship in the making?

The first entry of my weblog is about a subject that is currently highly controversial, the subject of smoking. Smoking has been a part of society for a great many years and has undergone a major transformation in the way that it is perceived. Smoking was once considered a highly attractive and even healthy passtime. In modern society the government has decided that public smoking is no longer an acceptable thing to do and therefore banned smoking in all enclosed public spaces from the 1st July 2007. A website that describes the ways in which companies must abide to the smoking ban is http://www.smokefreeengland.co.uk/ . This website justifies the banning of public smoking and argues that the ban will ‘ensure a healthier environment, so everyone can socialise, relax, travel, shop and work free from secondhand smoke.’ (10/03/2008). This is generally the standpoint taken by many ‘anti-smoking’ organisations such as ASH (action on smoking and health).
The BBC news website (http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?scope=all&edition=d&q=smoking ) has various video clips concerning the smoking ban. One of the most intresting clips that I found was about a man being refused an operation on his back because he was a smoker. The man did not get a bad back due to his smoking, so therefore in my opinion there are no grounds on which to refuse him treatment. I feel that when the NHS starts picking and choosing who it will and will not treat, despite the individuals in question paying taxes, then all sorts of moral issues will arise.
I am personally a non-smoker, I have never smoked and never intend to. However, this does not make me an ‘anti-smoker’. I feel that the government dictating when and where you can freely smoke is the start of a slippery road down. What will they ban from public places next? ‘Binge drinking’ as it is fondly known within the media has been under a lot of scrutiny recently and there is now talk of raising taxes to discourage teenage drinkers. This however wont just hit teenage drinkers, whose idea of a great night out is getting bladdered out of their minds in the park, it will affect me and others who go out and enjoy a few drinks with their friends. Isn’t this just the same as what happened with smoking? It was in the news recently that smokers will soon need a licence to continue smoking. What will we need a licence for next? Eating unhealthy food? Watching certain television programmes?
One of my favourite books is 1984 written by George Orwell. To anyone that’s read this book, I’m sure they will be able to see chilling similarities between the world depicted in 1984 and modern society.