Page "Infidelity" Paragraph 26

While infidelity is by no means exclusive to certain groups of people, its perception can be influenced by other factors.

In fact, individuals that are well educated, live in large metropolitan areas, or have more relaxed views on premarital sex are also more likely to be accepting towards extramarital affairs.

Furthermore, within a " homogeneous culture ," like that in the United States, factors like community size can be strong predictors of how infidelity is perceived.

Larger communities tend to care less about infidelity whereas small towns are much more concerned with such issues ( Blow and Hartnett 2005 ).

These patterns are observed in other cultures as well.

For example, a cantina in a small, rural Mexican community is often viewed as a place where " decent " or " married " women do not go because of its semi-private nature.

Conversely, public spaces like the market or plaza are acceptable areas for heterosexual interaction.

A smaller population size presents the threat of being publicly recognized for infidelity.

However, within a larger community of the same Mexican society, entering a bar or watering hole would garner a different view.

It would be deemed perfectly acceptable for both married and unmarried individuals to drink at a bar in a large city.

These observations can be paralleled to rural and urban societies in the United States as well ( Hirsch et al.

2007 ).

Ultimately, these variables and societal differences dictate attitudes towards sexual infidelity which can vary across cultures as well as within cultures.