Stephanie Coontz : Male characters repeatedly step into illicit sexual situations . Why ? She says at one time they were encouraged . Now infidelity scorned , but old habits persist . Tolerance for male adultery is certainly at a new low . She says in an unequal age , men learned to appreciate adoration ; women to admire men 's power . Coontz : Retro pattern ##ing , draws men to young adoring women , women to older men .
Stephanie Coontz : Male characters repeatedly step into illicit sexual situations . Why ? She says at one time they were encouraged . Now infidelity scorned , but old habits persist . She says in an unequal age , men learned to appreciate adoration ; women to admire men 's power . Coontz : Retro pattern ##ing , draws men to young adoring women , women to older men .