Memoires of an (American) Geisha

I am boggled. Seriously. I understand wanting to not have school loans to pay off, but this is insane. A woman, under the pseudonym Natalie Dylan, is auctioning off her virginity to pay for her schooling. She uses a pseudonym for safety reasons, but puts her face up all over the web...um. How does that work?

In Memoirs of a Geisha, the main character basically had the same thing happen to her and so this reminded me of that book. Dylan is quoted as saying,

"I don't have a moral dilemma with it."
"We live in a capitalist society," she tells us. "Why shouldn't I be allowed to capitalize on my virginity?"

Yipe! As for the obvious fact that this is prostitution, she is taking it to a place where it's legal to do this sort of thing. Nevada.

She's already earned her degree in women's studies and hopes to start a masters in Marriage and Family therapy. WHAT?! Would you want this woman trying to fix your marriage or family? And with a degree in women's studies, you'd think she'd learned a little bit more about women and how their bodies are not a commodity. I am flabbergasted. I'd like to be out of consumer debt and maybe have the house paid off, and Dickerson Rd is just a few short blocks away, but there are just some things that aren't worth it.

This sad case (and I say that because she obviously needs some help) of a woman undergoing all these tests to prove she really is a virgin, but what about the nasty guy (and yes, I think any person who pays money for sex is nasty and sick) who actually wins the bid? Is he going to be tested for STDs? How many times before she actually lets him touch her, since it takes awhile for some STDs to show up? What if he doesn't want to use protection? There are too many variables here!

At best (if you remove the moral issue, which I can't really and what about this being an intimate act between two people! How is an action winner intimate?), this is reckless and stupid, at worst, it's a violation of everything that human rights and women's rights advocates have worked against for years and shows a serious lack of respect for ones self. Plus the fact that it's being touted by it's proponents as a good thing, applauded as a savvy business move. Sheesh. How is one expected to bring a baby girl into this world?

On the other hand, maybe she's hoping for a book deal and a page turner of a thesis paper out of it.