This Smells Of A Social Science Experiment

This Smells Of A Social Science Experiment

This January 12, 2009 Telegraph news story at first just sounds like another reminder of the decline and fall of Western civilization:

A student who is auctioning her virginity to pay for a masters degree in Family and Marriage therapy has seen bidding hit £2.5million ($3.7m).

Natalie Dylan, 22, claims her offer of a one-night stand has persuaded 10,000 men to bid for sex with her.

Last September, when her auction came to light, she had received bids up to £162,000 ($243,000) but since then interest in her has rocketed.

The student who has a degree in Women's Studies insisted she was not demeaning herself.

Miss Dylan, from San Diego, California, USA, said she was persuaded to offer herself to the highest bidder after her sister Avia, 23, paid for her own degree after working as a prostitute for three weeks.

She said she had had a lot of attention from a wide range of men, including "weirdos", "those who get really graphically sexual about what they want to do to me" and "lots of polite requests from rich businessmen".

I am almost afraid what she considers "weirdos" when you look at what she is proposing to do. But there's part of this story that smells like an elaborate social science experiment. No, I don't mean her remark:

She added: "It's shocking that men will pay so much for someone's virginity, which isn't even prized so highly anymore."

I mean her undergrad degree, and what she is going to use the money for:

The student who has a degree in Women's Studies insisted she was not demeaning herself.

...

to pay for a masters degree in Family and Marriage therapy

I'm skeptical that she's telling the truth about this.