Indiscretion is a term that comes from the Latin word indiscretio . The concept refers to the absence of discretion : reserve, moderation.
The notion can refer to the lack of tact or sanity when acting or speaking , although it can also refer to the indiscreet act or saying. For example: “The singer made an indiscretion in front of the journalists and later regretted it,” “Excuse the indiscretion but I would like you to tell me how you managed to overcome that difficult moment,” “The player's indiscretion surprised his coach.”
People are expected to maintain discretion regarding certain topics, usually related to private life. The members of a couple, to cite one case, do not usually share their intimate problems with their neighbors. If one of the two does it, they commit an indiscretion.
Sometimes, indiscretion is a betrayal of trust . Suppose a famous actress tells a friend that she is pregnant and asks her not to tell anyone. This young woman, however, breaks the news to a journalist, who announces it on a television program. By not keeping the secret, the actress's friend incurred an indiscretion.
Leading a discreet life, or avoiding those attitudes that may be considered indiscretion, is nothing more than one of the many impositions of life in society . This means that in another time, both in the past and in the future, or in a parallel reality, we could do without this rule without problems, even if in our lives it seems impossible.
We are raised on certain bases of respect for ourselves and for others, and in this framework, indiscretion is something that can violate this principle: being indiscreet attracts bad tongues and can also destroy friendly relationships. The people who pay the most attention to issues related to morality and the norms of coexistence in society cannot tolerate indiscretion, but here there is a sexist nuance as in almost all aspects of life: the indiscreet woman is condemned with much harsher than the indiscreet man.
One of the most twisted and dangerous characteristics of machismo is that its "pillars", so to speak, are not written in a manifesto nor are they commented on or, worse still, reasoned about: they simply exist and lead the lives of millions of people of all ages. all sexualities , even those that suffer the most from its consequences. Nobody tells us that an indiscreet woman should receive harsher looks than an indiscreet man; but it happens.
This difference is also linked to sexual orientation and the denial of alternatives to heterosexuality, because the majority of society assumes that any masculine-looking person is a heterosexual man and vice versa. To this base they add a layer of generic traits, such as a taste for sports in the case of men and for fashion in the case of women, and then they proceed to judge them according to these stereotypes.
Regarding indiscretion, if a man airs his affairs with a woman he is usually congratulated while in the opposite case the woman is usually condemned for leading an indecent sexual life .
“Indiscretions” , finally, is the title of a TV program broadcast in Argentina between 1990 and 2017 , although in various stages. Hosted by Lucho Avilés , “Indiscretions” was based on the world of entertainment, often focusing on rumors or controversies. The program ran on four channels: Telefé , Canal 9 , ATC and, in its last cycle so far, CN23 .