Intro -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- About the Author -- 1 The C-Word (Cheater): Infidelity as the Ultimate Threat -- Importance of Marriage -- Infidelity: The Ultimate Threat -- Fascination with Infidelity -- Sexual Satisfaction and Relationship Quality -- The Burden of Masculinity -- Gendered Sexuality and Infidelity -- Theoretical Perspective -- The Infidelity Workaround -- Overview of Men's Infidelity Workaround -- Conclusion -- References -- 2 Researcher Seeks Cheating Husbands: Recruiting a Closeted Population -- What Is Ashley Madison? -- How Does Ashley Madison Work? -- Sampling -- Protection of the Research Participants -- The Hack -- Bots -- Limitations -- Personal Identities of the Researcher -- Data Collection and Analysis -- Who Are These Men? -- Why Are These Men Cheating? -- Decision to Cheat -- Efforts to Repair -- Cheating to Stay -- Conclusion -- References -- 3 "Men Need Their Egos Pumped up Regularly": Primary Partnerships Sow the Seeds of Men's Doubt -- Introduction -- Women as Relational Managers -- "Show Interest in Me!" -- "Notice My Feelings" -- Nagging: A Consequence of Gendered Notions of Relationships -- The Economy of Gratitude -- "Marriage Trains Us to Feel Badly About Ourselves" -- "Men's Egos Need Constant Pumping up" -- Conclusion -- References -- 4 "We Need a Witness to Our Lives": Outside Partners as Outsourced Relational Managers -- Introduction -- Outsourcing Relational Management to Outside Partners -- "Emotional Intimacy" or Friendship? -- Outside Partners Boost Men's Egos -- Conclusion -- References -- 5 "If I Was a Good Enough Man, She'd Be Jumping on Top of Me, Right?": Marital Beds Breed Self-Doubt -- Introduction -- Scripts and Gendered Sexuality -- Marital Bed Breeds Self-Doubt -- Outside Partners Make Me "Feel Less Sexually Defective" -- Outside Partners Take the Pressure Off Primary Partners.

Outside Partners Reduces Burden on Spouses -- Conclusion -- References -- 6 "I Seek a Partner Who Actually Wants Me to Make Up for Lost Time": The Girlfriend Experience in Outside Partnerships Helps Reduce FOMO -- Introduction -- The Girlfriend Experience -- Outside Partners Provide "The Girlfriend Experience" -- "Prioritize Sex with Me" -- Feel Desired -- Masculinity and Sexual Performance -- Entering Marriage Inexperienced -- Life Is Passing Me By -- Conclusion -- References -- 7 "Guys Who Suck in Bed Are the Butt of Jokes": The Pressure to Perform -- Introduction -- The Need for Validation -- "Women Tell Their Friends How Bad You Were" -- "TV Presents Us as Moronic Walking Penises" -- Pressure to Perform -- The Pressure Is Only on Men -- "She's Not Holding Up Her End" -- You're Only as Good as Your Last Performance -- Strategies and Compensations -- Conclusion -- References -- 8 "It's My Job to Make Her Orgasm": Women's Orgasm Provision as Responsibility and Special Skill -- Introduction -- Compensatory Masculinity -- Women's Orgasms as Marker of Masculinity -- "Her Orgasm Evidences My Skill" -- Her Pleasure Is My Pleasure -- Doing It for the Praise -- Best They Ever Had -- Self-Perception of High Sex Drive -- Conclusion -- References -- 9 So, What Does All of This Mean Anyway?: Making Sense of Men's Participation in Infidelity -- Implications for Clinical Practice -- Implications for Theory -- Future Research -- Conclusions -- References -- Index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2025. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.

Licensed e-book