The best of liars

NY Post:

Deceit, thy name is woman.

Most females lie "more cleverly and successfully than men" about everything from infidelity and facelifts to barhopping and shopping binges, according to a new book.

"Women lie as a survival technique, but also to get what they want," said Susan Shapiro Barash, author of "Little White Lies, Deep Dark Secrets: The Truth About Why Women Lie," published by St. Martin's Press this week.

Barish said a Rockland County woman stripped of her secrets on Fox TV's reality show "Moment of Truth" last week proves her research true.

Lauren Cleri, 26, admitted on air she had cheated on her NYPD cop husband and preferred an ex-boyfriend. But she failed a polygraph, and lost $200,000, by answering "yes" when asked if she believed she was a good person.

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More than 80 percent believe in "beneficial lying." A New Jersey mom doesn't tell her well-behaved daughter about her own wild teen years of marijuana and partying.

Urban women favor the "competitive lie," Barash said. "You lie about money and cosmetic surgery. Your out-of-work husband is a 'consultant.' You embellish your kids' accomplishments, or downplay their SAT tutoring."

In the "lying to yourself" category, the book mentions Hillary Rodham Clinton, who as first lady went on TV to blast the Monica Lewinsky scandal as a political attack against her husband. She later acknowledged Bill's cheating.

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The word "testimony" apparently comes from an ancient Greek practice where one party would hold the testicles of the other when they were "testifying" against each other. Women obviously never had this inducement for truth telling. Honor is something that can be taught, but many of those in the survey never learned that lesson. Honor is not a gift that others can give you. It has been described as the gift you give yourself.

Charlotte Allen also has a less than flattering look at her gender when it comes to going into a swoon over Obama. Perhaps, I have been blessed with knowing many women who are honest and intelligent enough to avoid these problems. I have worked with many of them on a professional basis and find that women are as honest and intelligence as the men I worked with and in many cases more so.

What is interesting about the study is that the dishonest it looks at is mainly on the personal level. When it comes to fraud cases, the men always outnumber the women.