A sociologist named Catherine Hakim says she's figured out the two keys to ultimate happiness. They are a LONG MARRIAGE . . . and a LOT OF SEX. Just not with the same person.
--Hakim says she's found the idea of marrying someone and only having sex with them has become antiquated in the Internet age. Sex is now a LEISURE ACTIVITY, and is becoming less and less connected to real, emotional love.
--She says marriage is about passionate feelings, emotional fulfillment, love, and support. Affairs are about excitement, fantasy, and a refusal to just accept growing old.
--So . . . the ultimate happiness comes from combining the best things you get from marriage AND the best things you get from lots of sex with OTHER people.
--Her best example are the Scandinavian countries, where more couples have something called "parallel relationships" . . . that's being married but accepting that your spouse is going to have sex with other people.
--Almost half of men and one-third of women in Finland apparently have parallel relationships . . . and their divorce rate is lower than the rate in countries where open marriages are taboo, like the U.S. and England.
