Secret Lives of Men

I was in a barbershop last week, cooling my heels, waiting for my turn to get snipped. It wasn't my usual barbershop. It wasn't even a real barbershop. It was one of those strip mall family hair cutting chains. They had a distinctly more upscale set of magazines laying around than I'm used to, so I rifled through the numerous copies of Cosmo Girl and Teen People to find this month's issue of GQ for men.

The cover story caught my eye immediately: The Secret Lives of Men. It purported to answer the question of "Why do men have to have double lives?".

Obviously, the article was pertinent to this blog. I would say that a high degree of my fellow club goers are there without the knowledge or approval of their significant other. So, strip clubbing fits into the secret double life category.

So, do men have secret lives in general? And why?

The author had some good insights on it that had me chuckling in the waiting room. For example, to paraphrase, he gave an example of the cost of a sweater. A wife will lie and tell her guy that the $299 sweater cost $200. The guy, on the other hand, will accurately report that the sweater cost $299 - but will neglect to say that it was a gift from his mistress in appreciation for the SAAB that he bought for her.

Funny. (props to the article author, who's name I didn't catch.)

The author had a similarly humorous take on the origination of the secret life phenomenon when it comes to men. Why do men lie to women about sex? He traced it to the first time he was caught jerking off to porn in his room by mom. He pretended that the Penthouse scattered on the floor was really Newsweek, and she pretended to believe it. Thus was born the pattern of the secret life.

So, what about it reader's. You've read my take here on this blog about my issues with the dual nature, the secret life. What's your take? Guys, does this describe you? Ladies, does your man have a secret life?