Apparently Italian "model" and aspiring actress Raffella Fico, 20, (the article describes her as a showgirl, "men's magazine" model, former Big Brother contestant and aspiring actress) has told a magazine that she is planning to "sell her virginity" for €1 million. She claims she's never had sex and her family swears she's never had a boyfriend. Of course she may not actually be planning on going through with the act and it could all just be a public relations ploy to generate media interest and kickstart her failing celebrity status once the Big Brother star starts to fade. Nothing like a bit sexual gossip to get your name on everyone's lips.
But let's just assume for a minute that she's planning on going through with this. Am I surprised that someone would do such a thing? Not at all. On one view it seems like a pretty easy way to make a million. Many women end up losing their virginity for nothing to a guy whom in retrospect they wish they'd never met let alone slept with. So I'm not surprised that someone would contemplate adding a pricetag to the act. She wouldn't be the first person to do such a thing and and I'm sure she won't be the last. And of course it's a surefire way to generate some publicity.
While I don't morally condone such acts I'm no prude and I'm hardly shocked by the idea of a woman exchanging sex with a man for money. Nor am I shocked by the fact that someone like this would contemplate doing it as a one-off transaction (there's no indication she plans on doing it more than once -- besides after the first time she would be doing it for a LOT less cash than she's asking). There has always been a sex trade and always will be. In the history of prostitution a good number of young ladies (many of whom unwillingly entered that profession) would have sold their virginity for a pittance. And I'm sure there are a number of women (and men too no doubt) out there who think they can just dip their toe in the waters of the sex trade, reap some quick rewards and then get out and go back to life as normal.
But going through with something like this will irrevocably change her life. Once it's gone you obviously can't reclaim your virginity. Moreover, if she does go through with doing it for money then the circumstances in which she lost it will be a matter of public record and like it or not the public will judge her for it. The internet has fuelled a new growth industry -- pornography -- and there are hundreds of stories of young women and men who think they can do it once (either photographs or a movie), make some quick money to get themselves out of a fix and then return to normal life only to discover that this kind of thing never goes away and they are tarred with it for the rest of their life. Of course what most of these people want is quick cash and anonymity. In this case, however, Miss Fico would appear to be doing it not just for the money but also for the celebrity factor. If she goes ahead with this she won't be wanting to remain anonymous like many young men and women seeking to make a quick buck from internet pornography. If she wasn't already some kind of a minor celebrity there is no way she could realistically ask for €1m. While I'm no expert on the going rates for these kinds of transactions I doubt she'd get more than a thousand or two if she weren't already a minor celebrity. So I guess she's hoping this will help launch her career from the minor celebrity of big brother star and girlie magazine model into the "mainstream".
If she goes ahead with it then honestly I don't know what will happen in her case. It will certainly gain her fame and notoriety, but I seriously doubt it will help her to launch into the mainstream by becoming an acclaimed actress. Just look at the way porn stars and nude models have tried to become "mainstream" celebrities and failed dismally. While most recede into oblivion, a select few (eg Jenna Jameson, Katie Price aka Jordan) do in a sense make it. Their names are known outside of the immediate circle of people who watch blue movies and "read" girlie mags; their pictures get in magazines and they appear on television. But only "in a sense" do they make it. They can never break free from being known as a pornstar or girlie mag model and successfully rebrand themselves as serious actors, musicians or whatnot. Despite their efforts to break into the "mainstream" they are rarely if ever taken seiously. So in Fico's case if she goes ahead with this she will most probably become more of a celebrity than she already is but I doubt she'll become the kind of celebrity she aspires to be, let alone a respected actress.
Of course what I find interesting in all of this is how she claims to be (or at least her brother claims she is) a "devout catholic". As a Christian I'm fully aware of the sin and contradictions in my own life and the fact that I don't perfectly live up to the standards of Christian morality. So I'm not saying this to judge her or imply that because of this she couldn't possibly be a Christian. But if she is a Christian she would appear to be confused about the area of sexual ethics and if I ever got the chance to meet her I would like to have a chat to her about this kind of thing. I particularly find it interesting that a lot of young Roman Catholics I know have no problem with ignoring their church's teaching on sex before marriage but get into all kinds of moral quandaries about whether they can use contraception because of their church's teaching in this area. Personally I would have thought that if you're going to ignore the former there's not much point in trying to live up to the latter. But that may just be me and my "Protestant" way of thinking :-)
But let's just assume for a minute that she's planning on going through with this. Am I surprised that someone would do such a thing? Not at all. On one view it seems like a pretty easy way to make a million. Many women end up losing their virginity for nothing to a guy whom in retrospect they wish they'd never met let alone slept with. So I'm not surprised that someone would contemplate adding a pricetag to the act. She wouldn't be the first person to do such a thing and and I'm sure she won't be the last. And of course it's a surefire way to generate some publicity.
While I don't morally condone such acts I'm no prude and I'm hardly shocked by the idea of a woman exchanging sex with a man for money. Nor am I shocked by the fact that someone like this would contemplate doing it as a one-off transaction (there's no indication she plans on doing it more than once -- besides after the first time she would be doing it for a LOT less cash than she's asking). There has always been a sex trade and always will be. In the history of prostitution a good number of young ladies (many of whom unwillingly entered that profession) would have sold their virginity for a pittance. And I'm sure there are a number of women (and men too no doubt) out there who think they can just dip their toe in the waters of the sex trade, reap some quick rewards and then get out and go back to life as normal.
But going through with something like this will irrevocably change her life. Once it's gone you obviously can't reclaim your virginity. Moreover, if she does go through with doing it for money then the circumstances in which she lost it will be a matter of public record and like it or not the public will judge her for it. The internet has fuelled a new growth industry -- pornography -- and there are hundreds of stories of young women and men who think they can do it once (either photographs or a movie), make some quick money to get themselves out of a fix and then return to normal life only to discover that this kind of thing never goes away and they are tarred with it for the rest of their life. Of course what most of these people want is quick cash and anonymity. In this case, however, Miss Fico would appear to be doing it not just for the money but also for the celebrity factor. If she goes ahead with this she won't be wanting to remain anonymous like many young men and women seeking to make a quick buck from internet pornography. If she wasn't already some kind of a minor celebrity there is no way she could realistically ask for €1m. While I'm no expert on the going rates for these kinds of transactions I doubt she'd get more than a thousand or two if she weren't already a minor celebrity. So I guess she's hoping this will help launch her career from the minor celebrity of big brother star and girlie magazine model into the "mainstream".
If she goes ahead with it then honestly I don't know what will happen in her case. It will certainly gain her fame and notoriety, but I seriously doubt it will help her to launch into the mainstream by becoming an acclaimed actress. Just look at the way porn stars and nude models have tried to become "mainstream" celebrities and failed dismally. While most recede into oblivion, a select few (eg Jenna Jameson, Katie Price aka Jordan) do in a sense make it. Their names are known outside of the immediate circle of people who watch blue movies and "read" girlie mags; their pictures get in magazines and they appear on television. But only "in a sense" do they make it. They can never break free from being known as a pornstar or girlie mag model and successfully rebrand themselves as serious actors, musicians or whatnot. Despite their efforts to break into the "mainstream" they are rarely if ever taken seiously. So in Fico's case if she goes ahead with this she will most probably become more of a celebrity than she already is but I doubt she'll become the kind of celebrity she aspires to be, let alone a respected actress.
Of course what I find interesting in all of this is how she claims to be (or at least her brother claims she is) a "devout catholic". As a Christian I'm fully aware of the sin and contradictions in my own life and the fact that I don't perfectly live up to the standards of Christian morality. So I'm not saying this to judge her or imply that because of this she couldn't possibly be a Christian. But if she is a Christian she would appear to be confused about the area of sexual ethics and if I ever got the chance to meet her I would like to have a chat to her about this kind of thing. I particularly find it interesting that a lot of young Roman Catholics I know have no problem with ignoring their church's teaching on sex before marriage but get into all kinds of moral quandaries about whether they can use contraception because of their church's teaching in this area. Personally I would have thought that if you're going to ignore the former there's not much point in trying to live up to the latter. But that may just be me and my "Protestant" way of thinking :-)
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