Lies and the Lying Women Liars of Craigslist Who Tell Them
March 3rd, 2008 : Carrie DowningThere’s a new book by Susan Shapiro Barash asserting that women are better liars than men. (I haven’t read it.)
True enough, any woman with a wee bit of guile knows how to tell a proper lie. But basing your thesis on the data collected from a test pool of women who responded to Craigslist ads? Please. That’s begging for skewed results.
No doubt, I am a loyal fan of Craigslist. I’ve found everything from friends to furniture there. But any regular user knows that once you get beyond the job postings and the buy/sell/swap sections, there is a legion of people who thrive on anonymity and all of the secrecy and intrigue that comes with it.
Let’s take one particular statistic cited: “More than 60 percent cheated on their husbands.” Is that really so shocking, considering? Craigslist is the perfect place to find a partner in crime for discreet affair on the side. There’s a whole section for it — it’s called “casual encounters.”
Unless you are a bad liar or your guilt gets the better of you, there are few consequences for doing something less-than-honest on Craigslist, because there is really no accountability. You can tap into social circles that have no connection to your own, drastically reducing your risk of someone you know discovering your sneaky ways. It’s a cheater’s dream.
Men — are you just going to sit back and let this woman tell everyone that women are better than you at lying? You don’t have to stand for it! Barash apparently didn’t even bother talking to a single one of you about your yarn-spinning skills. I’m willing to bet my Porsche there are just as many dishonest men hanging out on Craigslist as women.
