Every woman lies.

I am NO expert when it comes to women. But I've been friends with enough of them to come to this conclusion about almost every single woman in a relationship: Most women will cheat. Every woman will lie. (White lies are still lies.) But what's considered cheating? What's cheating for some, may be only flirting for others. Is groping cheating? Is kissing cheating? Does oral sex count? Where is the line drawn? It's subjective, so I can't say every woman cheats.  

But every woman lies.

What makes me think that? Because I've been told secrets by nearly every female friend I've had since I was 16.  At some point, a woman will hang out with a guy "friend" in a very date-like fashion and not tell her boyfriend about it. At some point, a woman will kiss a guy and not tell her boyfriend about it.  At some point, a girl will be drunk and allow or even encourage guys to fondle her breasts and not tell her boyfriend about it.  I've known one girl who was still getting over her ex-boyfriend, while having occasional sex with his friend (whom she rarely kissed), while also developing a new relationship with a guy online. I've known one girl who dated a guy while she also had a friend with benefits and only stopped the side man when she felt the main relationship became exclusive and she was invested into it enough. I've witnessed it over and over again.

Yes, it could be argued that withholding a truth is not the same as a lie, but if a woman can share this secret with me, why can't she be just as truthful to her boyfriend? (Never mind that on more than one occasion, I'm the one she's crossing the line with.) Is it because her boyfriend might get upset? Will it hurt him? Yes, possibly? Well, then that's why it's a lie. The honesty in the relationship has been eroded and along with it, the trust.  Cheating or not, it's a manipulation of the relationship.

Why am I ranting about this? Because it's the kind of shit that racks my brain when I start to have feelings for a woman, and sometimes even after I've lost those feelings for a woman. At what point will I be lied to by the woman I have feelings for, or at what point will I find out about the truths a past flame has withheld?  It's a damn-near fact I will be lied to, whether white lie or big lie.  But truths have a way of surfacing.  When they do, which ones will I let affect me and which ones will I be able to accept without an evidence of hurt? Which ones should I convince myself are no big deal and which ones should I allow to break my trust?  I suppose that's the root of this issue. I distrust nearly all women to some degree right from the start.  It's an area in which I need incredible self-improvement. 

There's so much more I could ramble on about this, but it's late and I'm not going to air dirty laundry.