Prof. Jill Hasday Quoted in the New York Times About New York’s Adultery Law

Professor Jill Hasday was quoted in the New York Times about an antiquated but seldom-enforced state law in New York that categorizes adultery as a crime. Professor Hasday said that when New York first outlawed adultery in 1907, it was common for states to pass laws criminalizing sex outside of marriage. These laws technically applied to everyone, but they were often used to target women and LGBTQ people. When the law is enforced, it can be used to target and embarrass women and that women accused of infidelity tend to face harsher social consequences than men. “What do you call a husband whose wife has had sex with someone else? You call him a cuckold,” she said. “What do you call a wife whose husband has had sex with someone else? You call her a wife. We still have this idea that adultery is particularly this wrong against a man.”