Cheating double standard- A man scorned!
VH1's show Single Ladies deals with a myriad of relationship and dating issues. From break ups to make ups to game playing and cheating. One of the main issues dealt with is the relationship of Darryl and April. They had been married for several years. Darryl married April when she was fairly young, and by all accounts he loved her dearly. Early in the season April began creeping with the mayor of Atlanta, played by Common.
Her girls, Val and Keisha, found out but kept the affair a secret. Darryl and Val have a long friendship that dates back to before he met April. Val actually introduced them. Here is where things go left. Darryl finds out about the affair, along with the whole city of Atlanta. The mayor had been getting it in! So April was among a string of ladies the mayor philandered with, while he too was married. (Pilar Sanders played his wife.)
Well when Darryl caught wind of the affair he was crushed...then he was out for blood. Oh yeah, he FLIPPED. He had wanted to have children with April and she continuously refused. Then he finds out she cheated. Not only that, but he finds out HIS friend Val kept it from him.
So what does Darryl do? He seeks revenge. April inherited some money from her grandmother, and Darryl is trying to blow it all. He also makes April suffer through marriage counseling even though he has no intent on healing the marriage.
Now peep the below clip for the reaction some have to Darryl's scorn.
Notice how Val says "we all make mistakes" in relation to April carrying on a torrid affair? Then she goes on to call Darryl an "a**". One of my colleagues commented that Darryl was a "P.A.B." (Pu*k A** B**c*).
Now most of you who watch Single Ladies are old enough to remember a movie that dealt with cheating... Waiting to Exhale anyone? Remember this scene:
Oh yeah... Angela Bassett's character Bernadette went IN after her husband cheated on her with a White woman. I remember being in the theater watching this and people saying "Girl don't burn it! Sell that ****!!!", but cheering for her "Get back" nonetheless!
So why is it that when cheating happens in a relationship, the reactions of men and women are treated differently? If a man cheats, it is his fault. If a man gets cheated on, then he probably did something there too. If a woman gets cheated on, it is okay for her to be a woman scorned, but if a man gets cheated on, he's supposed to get over it?
Ha! Please! Why can't people cheer for Darryl's get back? Or be as forgiving of Bernadette's husband's cheating as they are of April's? Oh that's right. Men are supposed to behave without emotions..unless we need them to be sensitive right? LOL
What do you think about the cheating double standard?
Comments
Point being, why is there a double standard? Do you feel that Bernadette went overboard in Waiting to Exhale as well?