If it takes a brilliant, twenty-two year old woman with a Bachelor's Degree in Women's Studies to give the finger to our culture's bullshit moralism and turn an awesome profit at the same time then so be it.
A quick recap for those of you who live in a cave. Part thesis project, part sociological study, Natalie Dylan decided (somewhat inspired by her older sister who was a prostitute for three weeks) to sell her virginity to the bidder of her choosing for a one night stand at the infamous Moonlite Bunny Ranch in Reno, Nevada.
According to Ms. Dylan, bidding as gone as high as $3.8 million dollars, which, despite her attractiveness, makes me wonder what sort of jackass would hand over that kind of money (hell... any kind of money really) for what will invariably be shitty lay.
To the surprise of no one, there are people wagging their fingers at this woman and to be honest, when I first heard about this there was a moment of pause. I did have the unfortunate pleasure of growing up Catholic after all where the lady with the miracle birth is a pretty big deal.
This moment quickly passed however once I started putting all of the pieces together. Despite being a virgin, Ms. Dylan is a grown woman who has already finished college. There are plenty of girls who strip, do porn or escort during or after college and contrary to what self-righteous moralists may want to think, not all of them missed too many hugs. By all accounts, Natalie Dylan appears to be as well adjusted as any other twenty-two year old girl with a normal job who decided to make a lot of money on the side in an efficient fashion.
The best part about this to me though, is something I eluded to at the beginning; this woman is purposefully exploiting the twisted, archaic ideas about virginity (especially in men) for her own benefit.
Islamic extremists wear bombs strapped around their waists because the reward will be a heaven with seventy virgins. Family values groups mix propaganda with fear-mongering and clever advertising (True Love Waits! Purity rings!) to persuade teenagers to remain abstinent until they are married. Some of these aforementioned teenagers, because they don't know any better, then secretly engage in oral and sometimes even anal sex (you know... the kind that's much safer) only to delude themselves into believing they've still maintained their 'purity' because vaginal intercourse didn't occur.
All of this bullshit for something that in early Europe was traded to whichever man possessed the most agricultural wealth. Excuse me, Natalie Dylan and the rest of us who aren't willing to subscribe to the idea that virginity is some sort of important thing.
Those of us who have already crossed the Rubicon (and what Ms. Dylan will learn whenever she decides to complete her experiment) there's nothing about the first sexual encounter that's particularly awesome for either sex. After all, sex, beyond all of the emotional, psychological and social complications, is a physical activity; Lance Armstrong wasn't winning the Tour de France the first time he jumped on a bike.
Sure, it should be noted that sex with someone you love can be pretty damn good (though it can also be bad) but sex without love isn't shabby either. And while I've never tried it, I'm willing to bet sex for $3.8 million dollars isn't too shabby.
Especially if it's your first time.
- Caesar M. Schultz
