The New Other Woman: Contemporary Single Women in Affairs with Married Men

""Having the love of a man is probably the single most compelling demand placed upon a woman by herself and her society,'' even in this liberated age, the author notes. But the demographics are not promising for women over 25in 1980, 90% of well-educated, well-employed men were already marriedand the ``married man solution,'' i.e., affairs between the single and married, is on the increase. There are many advantages for the women to a relationship with a man who's already ``taken,'' according to Richardson: independence and a highly-charged erotic life, made more so perhaps by its secretiveness and risk. But the same factors can bring despair, we're cautioned here: he's not around for holidays, he may never leave his family, and if he does, he often marries someone else rather than the stigmatized Other Woman. Sociologist Richardson presents the pros and cons objectively, with interviews with real-life Other Women. November