I pulled this to discussion... figure it out here if Double Standard applies and what it should say.
Double Standard: Lets just say if the movie was about a heterosexual husband and father decide to have an affair behind his wife's back for years on end it wouldn't be seen quite the same.
Granted they are cheating on their wives but you're kind of missing the point. If Ennis loved another woman more than his wife he could always divorce her and marry the other girl. Being with Jack he's afraid of getting murdered like those two childhood neighbours of his. The movie never suggests that cheating on your wife is good but these two guys carry on a relationship in secret because they can't have it in the open. Essentially, Ennis and Jack and their wives are all victims of society's homophobia, like any "in-the-closet" man who hides behind a woman who is unaware of his sexuality.
I pulled this to discussion... figure it out here if Double Standard applies and what it should say.