本研究探討之問題為外遇新聞及相關論述的歷史轉變及其性別政治。今日人們乃將外遇、婚外情認為是「婚姻危機」,藉由指出1950s至1990s外遇新聞報導及相關論述之轉變,探究外遇被塑造為「婚姻危機」的歷史過程。另一方面,也回顧台灣在1960年代至1990年代以來的社會變遷,現代化、都市化的過程帶動社會結構的重組,也影響著個人生活,如自由戀愛的興起;婦運與民法親屬編的修法運動使女性的法律知識增加等等,上述的特定歷史脈絡與外遇新聞報導方式的轉變息息相關。本文以聯合報蒐集之外遇新聞為主要分析史料,以論述分析為研究方法,輔以分別統計夫外遇或妻外遇的新聞數量來探究其變化。 研究發現外遇新聞論述反映了親密關係的轉變並有其性別政治。報導數量上,1950年代呈現妻子篇數多丈夫少,然而至1990年代漸漸扭轉為丈夫多妻子少。此趨勢可從新聞內容的變化來解讀,1950s至1960s的外遇論述隱含了性貞操的雙重標準,使得妻子的外遇較容易受到譴責。1960年代後期,從自由戀愛而進入婚姻、建立家庭的情形益發普遍,愛情、忠誠、信賴等元素開始被認為是婚姻的要素,愛情卅婚姻卅家庭的關係逐漸密切結合。在各種兩性作家、性心理學、言情小說等相關婚姻論述中,均把外遇建構為破壞此原則的婚姻危機,「解除危機」的方式為挽回丈夫的愛情。這些論述的發話對象幾乎是女性卅妻子,意味著挽回丈夫、維繫婚姻與完整的家庭是妻子的責任。1980s以後,夫方外遇的新聞數量漸漸超越妻方,意味著丈夫外遇問題受到注意,同時外遇新聞開始對通姦之證據有更細節的描述,也出現與外遇相關的法律知識論述。此現象與婦女運動萌芽,婦女的法律權益開始受到重視有關;女性的教育水準、經濟地位提高也讓女性得以近用法律資源,當女性遭遇丈夫外遇、婚姻破裂時,離婚及相關法律成為爭取權益的可行辦法。 本研究的結論認為外遇新聞及相關論述的歷史轉變與戰後的社會變遷緊密相關,並進一步反映了親密關係的內涵可能有所轉變。由1950年代的外遇糾紛例子可知,婚姻卅親密關係的性質原為公共生活的一部分,是可受鄰里公評之事。進入1960s至1970s為轉折點,婚姻觀念開始產生轉變,愛情、性與婚姻三者的關係越來越緊密,並被視為夫妻之間的隱私事務及個人生活的一部分。故發生糾紛時轉為個人尋求法律系統(國家公權力)的協助。
“Affair” means a sexual relationship, romantic relationship or passionate attachment with someone out of marriage, it is seen as a “marriage crisis”, which the consciousness arose from 1960s in Taiwan. Under the background of social change after WWII in Taiwan: urbanization, modernization, freedom to choose own spouse, women’s right movement and so on, which caused the change of the content of affair news and related discourses about marriage in the newspaper. Drawing on the statistics and content of affair news on the United Daily News from 1951 to 1999, this thesis examines the history of affair news and its gender politics during 1950s and 1990s. I argued that the historical change of affair news and related discourse about marriage is a reflection of social transformation of intimacy relationship/marriage. Firstly, the statistics of husband and wife affair news shows the wives’ affair get more attention than husbands’ in 1950s, but the situation converts in 1980s to 1990s. The phenomenon can be seen as a change of gender relationship, the double standard of sexual morality between men and women result in wives’ affair more visible in 1950s society. After 1980s, more women have opportunities to access educational and economical resources, which change their status in family and marriage. Secondly, the content of affair news also changed and revealed how people define the relationship between marriage and affair. The news used to define affair as a personal moral problem in 1950s. In 1960s-1970s, several social change including industrialization, urbanization, which brought about the transformation of intimacy, people have more freedom to enter marriage by love match. Love, trust, loyalty are considered the basic foundation of marriage in the main discourses, couples should know each other very well before marriage that can promise the happiness in marriage/family life, “affair” is caused by losing these elements.