Challenging Institutional Orthodoxy

A London woman has turned attention on herself through her bouts of unrestrained enthusiasm for intimate relationships cemented by marriage vows, without taking advantage of the need to ceremonially and lawfully rid herself of previous marriages before taking on the challenges of new ones. Only 31 years of age, and already embroiled in five marriages, all but the first, at age 18, representing serial bigamy.

She is not, evidently, entirely unaware of the institution of marriage requiring by law, a formal and legal divorce before embarking on a new alliance of marriage. It's just that, it would appear, she is easily distracted, and given to pluralist-tasking. Judges before whom she has appeared have described her as a "very predatory female". She most certainly has her counterpart in the other gender, and represents as a somewhat unusual female counterpart.

Society does not necessarily look askance at famous women like the film beauty Elizabeth Taylor who indulged in one marriage after another, occasionally on multiple occasions to the same man. Her decisions to leave one marriage for another, then another, and another, left her with a reputation for fastidious fickleness and unbridled sexual enthusiasm, but she was never besmirched legally as a serial bigamist, merely a serial opportunist seeking constant gratification.

And there are more than enough men who indulge in this kind of thing, as well, both legally and illegally. On the part of the young woman, Emily Horne, a former model - a social position and a trade where women are viewed as commodities representative of female beauty, poise and accessibility on the model of Playboy 'bunnies'; cuddly and fetchingly nubile - one could posit she has a short attention span and is simply eager to confront new intimacy challenges.

Look, on the other hand, at Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a robustly enthusiastic womanizer. True, he hasn't wedded one woman after another to gratify his sexual urges, but he does engage in rather questionable practises seeking the company of beautiful young women, models, hostesses, prostitutes, to excite his libido and entertain his friends at his various villas, as well as himself.

He isn't going to prison to serve sentences for bigamous relationships, because society has set up legal social conventions that will permit it to look the other way as long as one conforms to certain legalities, morality aside. Emily Horne is simply more spontaneous, down to earth about her carnal desires and romantic impulses. And she does express regret: "I genuinely regret causing any hurt to the men I married but I am trying to put it all behind me now."

Prime Minister Berlusconi, on the other hand, denies he has offended his wife, damaged his relationship with their children, and created an unnecessarily questionable spectacle for the Italian public and the reputation of their government. Not, on the evidence, that the electorate particularly cares. He is a man, after all, and men do these things. Particularly in ethnic societies where machismo is such a valued male attribute.

And look here; while Emily Horne stands before a chiding judge and serves jail time, Silvio Berlusconi grins and gloats and wins increasing political victories in provincial elections.