Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Posted by:
Kevin McCullough
at
1:57 PM
This entry is a post from Michele Reithmayr, our newest blogger here. She serves as the director of a Women's Resource Center, and can be contacted at:
"what's your bid?"
I
first read the headline and thought, "this has to be a joke." Miss Natalie Dylan, 22 has decided to give herself away to the highest bidder--more specifically--her virginity. The California native is attempting to raise money to pay off school loans taken out for her Master's Degree.
This got me thinking about the path that women before us have taken to get to where we are today. In biblical times, women were considered property and negotiated for. In the 1800's, we earned the right to vote, sit on juries and let our voices be heard. It wasn't until the 1960's that we demanded equality in the workforce and a law was passed for equal pay to women. This week I decided to apply for grad school. I thank my lucky stars that I have the ability to do this--in some countries it is still illegal to even educate women.
I find it ironic that Miss Dylan is willing to put herself on the auction block and prostitute herself, to be negotiated for-all for the sake of paying for the education she could not have otherwise received had the courageous women before her NOT fought for gender equality. Did I forget to mention that her Master's will be in Women's Studies? Miss Dylan, you just wasted a LOT of money on a education that seems to have taught you nothing.