I came across an interesting story recently about a woman who (subtly) offered herself to a Brazilian bus boy for two weeks in exchange for a tour deep into the Amazon rain forest. This was a brilliant idea… especially this economy.
Is there really anything bad about bartering your body for goods and/or services? I know you moralists out there who believe sex is a sacred and intimate act so putting out for a pair of Nine Inch Nails would be a terrible, terrible thing to do. Personally, never fucked a girl for a say, a new addition to my wardrobe, (I should probably get on that) but hey… times are hard.
The act of using… well, yourself as a bargaining chip goes back as far civilization. Back in the ’seen but not heard’ days (that lasted a few centuries) the body was the only way women could have any say in how their lives turned out. Cleopatra, Ninon de Laclos and countless other women gained power and some degree of wealth (not independent wealth but still) by granting (and then denying) men access to their body.
Men like Casanova also enjoyed the fruits of using their ‘natural talents’ and some scientists believe we’re simply hardwired to offer ourselves up to someone with resources we’re interested in. In short, men don’t drive Porsches just because they go fast and women don’t wear high heels just because they look good.
A recent study of four hundred and seventy-five University of Michigan undergrads revealed twenty-seven percent of the men and seventeen percent of the women who weren’t in committed relationships, offered a ’service’ (help studying, laundry, tickets to a game, etc.) in exchange for sex. Five percent of the men and nine percent of the women did the opposite.
It isn’t as if these kids are hard up for resources either. Daniel Kruger, the research scientist said it best:
“It’s more about getting what you want than getting what you need,” he says. “Unless you think everyone needs a $200 Louis Vuitton bag.”
