Excelle

I read this article with as open a mind as possible, and then read through all the responses hoping to see someone with an unbiased opinion. Well, we’re women so I guess that was an unrealistic expectation, but I was hoping for at least an evaluation of both sides. I think it's interesting that everyone is so caught up on the "morality" of the issue of prostitution. Selling sex in itself is not immoral. It’s things like exploitation, control, and underage prostitution that make it immoral. In other words, it’s a business. How the business is conducted is what makes it corrupt.
Let’s take an aside for a moment: how many cultures sell their women as wives? It's not our American way, but it is their culture. Is it immoral for someone to practice a different culture than us? We would be pretty ignorant and arrogant to claim that. Keeping that in mind, look at prostitution: the immorality of it comes more from the exploitation of women than the act itself. Most prostitutes are forced into it against their will and basically help captive, as slaves, never seeing the profits of their work. Here in the states, most prostitutes aren’t forced into it by one person per se, but more by circumstances and misfortune. At that point they do end up in the same position as a woman who has been sold into prostitution – many of them never escape.
For ages and eons, men have exploited women against their will. Yet here you have a woman who, of her own free will, is willing to put a price on something that should be of great value to begin with. Why do we condemn that as immoral? Because it doesn’t fit into our expectations of how life should be? We admire a framed portrait in a museum depicting a nude woman dancing by candlelight, but abhor the woman who posed for it. Every weekend women get drunk and practically have sex on the dance floor with a hundred strangers for free but despise the woman who dances at a men’s club. Why, because she makes a profit? Wouldn’t it be more empowering to have control over our body and employ it for our use instead of allowing it to be ogled, groped, or used for free?
And no, I’m not a prostitute, exotic dancer, or nude model. I have two beautiful children, one of which is a daughter who I would hope would never make choices in her life that would lead her to that lifestyle. But that’s MY opinion, and MY preference. I’m not going to condemn or judge someone who chooses differently than me, especially when their actions are causing no harm to others. Just a different perspective, I hope this gives people something to think about.

Why is her stunt getting so much attention? Why on earth would one man pay so much for a woman's virginity? She's looking for millions of dollars. I've heard that she already has a book contract and movie option.

The only culture I know that routinely bids for a woman's virginity is the geishas in Japan. I learned that from a movie, and I don't know if they even do that anymore. I realize how valuable virginity is. But I do believe it's outrageous.

Why doesn't she just get a job where her sister works/where the "deed" is to be done, and be done with it? She says it worked for her sister. It seems that she wants the attention, too. And she says she wants a career in family counseling? Please! I couldn't take her seriously.

Not sure if I agree or not but I'm sure gonna buy her book! From a research and career point of view, it's pretty clever. What I want to see is a man selling his virginity, hell I haven't gotten much out of my virginity maybe if I would have considered it more valuable I would have thought of something like this...truth is we should really analyze the men that are willing to pay THAT much for her virginity, that's what really perplexes me. Goes to show you who has the real power...some of us just don't realize it and men like it this way. Besides, she won't be in any real danger, she said she has help from various professionals who will make sure the "man" has no std's or is sick and perverted. I wish we ALL had access to this kind of information whenever we decided to get intimately involved with someone.

Let's hope she does not end up in some kind of snuff movie...I think this woman is playing with fire!!

How can they prove she is a virgin? Is there any way to actually prove this? Are we just suppose to take her word for it?

I don't think selling yourself to lonely men is empowering. I think it's turning yourself into an object. Hey that's her choice and who am I to judge her, but how can she call selling herself off as an object to be used feminism??? It's not in my eyes, I wouldn't want this woman fighting for my social rights to equality.

Whether this girl chooses to sell herself or not is, in my opinion, her right and her choice..she belongs to herself. But I think it an ill advised choice. She's all about the feminist side of things but I come from the place where feminism got it's second wind and what she's really doing is pushing us all back a decade or more. She''s showcasing herself as a commodity and not the bright girl she so obviously is. And, through her, she's inferring that all women are potential commodities. This is a concept that we've been fighting for centuries. Because a woman publicly makes it known that she's for sale - she becomes every woman in many men's minds. I don't thank her for that. We have enough problems in this world with men who negotiate for young women...and people who are willing, therefore, to regard them as objects...like paintings, or statures or real estate...and have no problems 'stealing' them and selling them to the highest bidder. By electing to enter into this deal herself - she's giving tacit value to that thinking. Whether she realizes it or not...she just made the buying and selling of young women a more 'reasonable' concept. If there's any 'immorality' to attach here..in my opinion, that would be it. Every woman has the right to own and operate her own body as she sees fit. But this one is making a broad statement with hers that will impact many women, and thata's just not fair. It's an irresponsibility that she must take the burden for. Her feminist view point is quite skewed At 22, she needs to have spoken with those of us who have actually lived the fight and she's not seeing her actions in an historical context. We will spend many years undoing the damage she's doing now.

she's in a delusion if she thinks the man who wants to buy her body will treat her as a person. by putting herself on sale she's saying i'm a commodity, an object with a price tag. that's exactly how she will be treated