Cuckolding has often been a taboo in a relationship - or the death knell for it - but it can actually be strengthening for couples, according to a new study.
Scientists have discovered that cuckolding, the act of watching your sexual partner have sex with a third party, can improve communication within a relationship and allow the partners to get chatty about their sexual mores. There's no word on whether robots count.
"This fantasy has been around as long as marriage and sexuality," according to David Ley, author of 'Insatiable Wives', a new book on the subject.
"But we're hearing more and more about it these days, and more people are rejecting the social stigma against this fantasy."
According to the study, 58 percent of men held a fantasy about cuckolding, as well as 33 percent of women.
The research, which included both heterosexual and homosexual couples, also indicated that both gay and straight couples felt the urge, albeit in different ways. Straight men were found to associate cuckolding with interracial sex and BDSM, while gay men were not.
"Men are more likely to fantasize about cuckolding, and they do it more often - but there are a number of women who have these fantasies as well, which points to the need for more research focused on women's cuckolding desires," says Justin Lehmiller, who has also recently released a book on the topic, entitled 'Tell Me What You Want: The Science of Sexual Desire and How It Can Help Improve Your Sex Life'.
"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.
"It's a sexual desire that can be easily customised to meet a wide range of sexual needs and desires, whether it's taboo sex, novelty, voyeurism or something else."
"I'd long gotten letters from straight couples into cuckolding (usually initiated by the husband), but none from gay couples until after marriage equality began to gather steam," said the third originator of the study, Dan Savage, a syndicated sex columnist and podcaster.
"It's not cuckolding if there isn't an element of humiliation, degradation or denial. Our erotic imaginations have the ability to turn shame lemons into delicious kink lemonade."
Horses for courses, mate.
Featured Image Credit: Tom and JerryTopics: Interesting, Sex