Losing It

Did you hear about the 22-year-old woman who is publicly auctioning her virginity to pay for her college education? No, it’s not a joke. And in the next breath, she says she wants the bidding to hit $1 million.

Now I didn’t go to Harvard or Yale, so I don’t know how much a higher education costs. But I’m pretty sure not $1 million. Can you imagine the monthly student loan payment on that bill?

Maybe I’m wrong. After all, I have been out of college for 13 years. Maybe it does cost that much. If that’s the case, my daughter had better be satisfied with going to a state school, or better yet, be prepared to sell off her virginity.

Strike that.

No daughter of mine will ever go to a state school. I want her to do better than I did.

In all seriousness, this woman, who calls herself Natalie Dylan for “safety reasons,” says she feels empowered by her decision.

“I don’t think auctioning my virginity will solve all my problems,” she said on a celebrity television show, The Insider, on Wednesday. “But it will create some financial stability. I’m ready for the controversy. I know it will come along. I’m ready to do this.”

She later added this gem, “We live in a capitalist society. Why shouldn’t I be allowed to capitalize on my virginity?”

What really shocked me about her comments? The “solve all my problems” part. Apparently, she has more than financial problems.

The story continued to make me shake my head when I learned that after eBay turned her down, she decided to go with a Nevada brothel, the Moonlite Bunny Ranch. I believe that’s the place made famous by the HBO series.

Oh, yeah, did I mention that her sister works there, allegedly to pay off her college debts?

It’s not that I want to control this woman’s body with angry and harsh words of morality. I have no right. Her body is hers. I respect that.

What concerns me--and maybe it's the romantic in me--is I honestly believe that many of us want to lose our virginity to someone we love. Or lust after. Giving a part of ourselves like our virginity should somewhat be a private affair. Something that bonds two people, for better or worse, forever in a spiritual way. Not in a capitalistic way.

Natalie Dylan said she needs the money. That’s fine. But what if she gets $1 million? Will that open the eyes and legs of other virgins? How is that not prostitution?

And not to be crude, but some of us are virgins in many areas of sex. We may think we’re porn stars, but we haven’t even come close to doing the things that appear on even late night Cinemax. So will we eventually see a Web site, eLay, pop up and offer other areas of virginity for sale?

I believe the message our youth should have about their virginity is that it’s worth a lot more than $1 million. And if when the time is right, when they are of age and understanding of the responsibilities, they find love the first time they make love.

It will be a richer experience than losing it at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch to some wealthy stranger willing to write a check.

OUT AT HOME: We’re officially a Wii family now. And Wii love it.

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