...and the Reader's advertising banner across the top of the page just happens to be for this year's Bigass Bridal Bizarre.

Can't ask for better blog promo than that. :)

I wonder if they sell meat and beer?

Hahahha...well, the "bridal bizarre" should be one of those events that has Russian and Phillipino women come in to marry those 50-year-old businessmen that order them thru the mail.

"I'd like the carne asada, a Bohemia, and your daughter..."

Well, you know Josh, I can't help comment on the first story a bit and draw the obvious (to me) comparison.

Consider the 18 year old male who is deciding which sports program he's going trust his body with for the next few years while he hopes to gain notice and join the pros.

Chances are, that boy is going to suffer more lasting physical harm than the girl who gets her cherry broke for money.

Chances are, that if the girl succeeds in using her body to make money, she'd be a fair money-manager and actually graduate and perhaps become a marriage counselor.

Chance are, that if the boy uses his body well, and isn't too badly damaged in the process, that he'll be a pro for a few years. But most likely he'll never finish school, and the money will be gone far faster than he could imagine. (If you think pimps are greedy, look at sports agents.)

So I don't have much problem with a woman, of her own free will, using her body to make money...especially since young men who do the same thing are somehow considered role-models.

(We gotta get on the radio, Josh!)

Fred

True, that is!

This woman is actually losing her virginity the same way I did.

Although, the money transaction went the opposite way!

(I'm here all week, folks. Try the veal. And stay in your seats...Foghat is next!)

And then there are our "friends," the Saudis, who seem to see no problem with marrying an 8 year old girl off to a 47 year old man, for example: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/17/saudi.child.marriage/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, the kingdom's grand mufti. What do you expect from a guy called the grand MUFTI!?! Anyway, I have a huge problem with this auctioning off of virginity. Why are women sexually commoditized and sold to the highest bidder? Fred, this is absolutely nothing like being a professional athlete. To compare the two is a disgrace to your normally rational veiwpoints. The former athlete is a hero, or "role-model", as you call him, the former prostitute is nothing, least of all a "role-model". I know, the girls at The Hustler Club tell you guys they are all going to medical school or law school, but, trust me, they are not. They are going to their meth dealer. And before you think that I am some uptight women's libber, I have been to strip clubs and had a really fun time. I just do not think it is a great way to put yourself through school. Most prostitutes, strippers, anyone in the sex trade, typically come from really crappy backgrounds and do not have many choices in life. But they all have a brain. Let them use that to get themselves through school. To encourage young women to rely on selling themselves to get through life is a terrible thing to perpetuate. Women need to stop doing this if they ever want to be treated as anything more than second-class citizens, or, even worse, as chattel.

Agree with Grant 100%.

'Cept for the fact that I'm pretty sure Fred was kidding. (At least, I sure hope so.)

Well, Aunty Geek and MsGrant, I'm only kinda kidding.

Yes, my lovely Ms. G., many of the young women using their bodies to make money come from crappy backgrounds and feel they have no other options.

The same is absolutely true of many young men who have been raised to think that playing sports is the only path out of the ghetto.

I think the healthiest adult opinion to hold on this issue is that neither of them are role models. They are young people who are doing the best with what little they've got.

The double-standard is what's wrong.

Professional athletes, judging by recent news reports, are just as likely to be snorting meth. But they're also doing steroids, making them doubly dangerous to society.

Professional strippers, also judging from news reports (I don't hang out at strip joints...I find them depressing) also do a lot of meth. But they don't do steroids for obvious reasons.

Even better, rather than training how to tackle and impose pain, they're dancing. They don't hurt anyone except themselves.

The football player, on the other hand, positively glories in hurting others and is well-trained at turning aggression into power and success.

The stripper who eventually ends her career, providing she stayed away from drugs and unsafe sex, can go on to other things.

The athlete who's career is usually ended by permanent injury even when he does everything right, is often unable to pursue any other interests. They didn't get an education at school because they were jocks, pampered and passed along rather than learning much.

So you can see that what I'm getting at, my lovely ladies, is that considering athletes to be heroes is illogical if at the same time we consider strippers to be lowlife.

Best,

Fred "Cheap Date" Williams

The stripper who eventually ends her career, providing she stayed away from drugs and unsafe sex, can go on to other things.

Like what? Porn? What does she put on her resume? There are millions of women in the world involved in the sex trade industry. There are not millions of professional atheletes. They do it because it is easy and it is perpetuated by the notion that this is something of an asset to them, to be used as a means to make money. Becoming a world class athelete is not easy. And sex trade women rarely make millions. I don't consider these women to be lowlifes, but I fear that if women don't stop trading sex for money that they will forever be viewed as somehow less valuable then men, and only good for one thing. It's scary how many ads you see on the internet for "college coeds", selling themselves to get through school. I don't think for one minute that the majority of them are actually enrolled in a university. And how would you feel if your kid was doing this to make money? Yes, times have changed, and society does not impose as much shame on women as it used to, but that in itself is a problem. I don't think women should feel shame for resorting to sex as a means to make money, I think they should not have to do it in the first place. And the scary part is that many of them are not "resorting". They actually think this is a great way to earn fast, easy cash. It's not a viable career. I can't wrap my head around your comparison of pro-athlete to prostitute. It's not that cut and dry. Sorry, Fred.

"Chances are, that boy is going to suffer more lasting physical harm than the girl who gets her cherry broke for money."

Of course, even if she escapes being beaten by pimps and Johns (or very "respectable" club owners who couldn't possibly be connected with the Mafia even though they all seem to be Italian), STDs, and unwanted pregnancies, the psychological harm will be just as (or more) damaging than a sports injury. And she wasn't being worshiped as a hero when it was inflicted -- or paid millions, as Grant points out.

"Chances are, that if the girl succeeds in using her body to make money, she'd be a fair money-manager and actually graduate and perhaps become a marriage counselor."

Yeeeeeaaaah. Seriously? Chances are, she's going to be strung out and die young. If not, her self-esteem is far too low for her to morph into an achievement-driven college student.

"Chance are, that if the boy uses his body well, and isn't too badly damaged in the process, that he'll be a pro for a few years. But most likely he'll never finish school, and the money will be gone far faster than he could imagine. (If you think pimps are greedy, look at sports agents.)"

I don't really differentiate between a pimp and a sports agent, but that's just me. But chances are, your boy is getting paid millions and he just needs to invest wisely. Although, with a book deal, speaking engagements or a gig as an announcer somewhere, he won't even have to.

"So I don't have much problem with a woman, of her own free will, using her body to make money...especially since young men who do the same thing are somehow considered role-models."

But the woman isn't. And thank God for that, because it'd just be a case of two wrongs that still didn't make a right.

So, the two situations are comparable in the sense that we ALL "prostitute" ourselves in some way or another in order to make enough $$$ to live on. Isn't there a line from Wall Street that says, "The thing about money -- it makes you do things you don't want to do."

Financial -- Millions for the athlete. Survival for the prostitute.

Psychological -- Worship and increased self-esteem for the athlete. Abuse and decreased self-esteem for the prostitute.

Long-term Career Prospects -- Coaching, Announcer gigs, book deals, and speaking engagements for the athlete. Zero for the prostitute as she ages.

Finally, it's disrespectful to hardworking professional athletes to compare them with prostitutes (who may or may not put in a little gym time here & there).

Now, whether something's a good idea and whether or not it should be criminalized are two different things.