Married but Dating

I can't be the only woman in my position. I have had permission to sleep with other people for the last 20 years of my marriage. In fact, my husband prefers it that way.

I watched 'Oprah' today (I know, what was I thinking?) and the show was full of women who want little or no sex with their husbands (and this is what they were admitting on national television). These same women, I'm willing to bet, would be hurt, horrified, and stunned if they found out their husbands were having sex with someone else.

Why does the American culture insist on monogamy when, from what I can tell, it doesn't work? And the less it works, the more hysterical the assertion becomes that it's the one true way to live. Polygamy and concubinage flourish all over the planet. I'm not saying they're perfect systems but ours isn't either.

All you have to do is look and you'll see Married but Looking, AdultFriendFinder, and hundreds of other outlets for people looking to hook up. (Place to insert shocked gasps of 'Not my husband!!')

Maybe if we were all more honest with one another we could build lives on sturdier foundations than fairy tales of fidelity and happy ever after.