CNN Article Claims Cuckolding 'Can Be Positive'

ashley.rae | January 25, 2018
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CNN took a break from reporting on President Trump’s tweeting habits to inform the public that, actually, cuckolding can have “positive” benefits for many couples.

In a story published on Thursday, CNN’s Ian Kerner wrote about how the word “cuck” has become a slur to refer to people who are viewed of selling out their own interests. The word “cuck” comes from “cuckolding,” which is what happens when a man raises a child that is not, in fact, his. Cuckolding has also become a fetish that involves men watching their wives have sex with other men.

In the article, Kerner references a study by David Ley, Justin Lehmiller, and Dan Savage that evaluates cuckolding in the gay community. According to the findings in the study of 580 gay men, gay men who engage in cuckolding have “positive experiences” with the fetish.

Lehmiller also claims that after evaluating “thousands of Americans,” he found that more than half (58 percent) of men in general have a cuckolding fantasy, but just about a third of all women.

The difference, the study noted, is that when white people cuckold, there is a racial element—while gay cuckolding relationships do not appear to be as focused on race. The lack of historical monogamy without the gay community is also a factor in gay cuckolding relationships.

Lehmiller told CNN, ”For gay men, cuckolding isn't quite as taboo because the norm of lifelong monogamy isn't so strong in the LGBT community; however, it can still be arousing for a number of other reasons.”

While the “positive experiences” with cuckolding are not discussed in any detail in the study (what someone considers a “positive experience” may very well be a negative experience for someone else),  Ley claimed the study proves that cuckolding is a “positive fantasy.”

He told CNN, "Overall, our research found that for the most part, cuckolding tends to be a positive fantasy and behavior,” adding, “It doesn't appear to be evidence of disturbance, of an unhealthy relationship, or of disregard for one's partner.”

Lehmiller, however, included the caveat that enjoying cuckolding actually depends on your personality.

“We found several personality factors that predict more positive experiences acting on cuckolding fantasies. For those who have a lot of relationship anxiety or abandonment issues, who lack intimacy and communication, and who aren't careful, detail-oriented planners, acting on a consensual non-monogamy fantasy could very well be a negative experience,” he told CNN. “In other words, not everyone who has a cuckolding fantasy should think about acting on it.”

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