Is Prostitute’s Story The New Fairy Tale For the Internet Age?
Alina’s Story Following-Up on CAN WE REALLY BELIEVE THE INTERNET CHERRY SELLERS? Teen who auctioned her virginity for £8,000 may lose half… because prostitutes in Germany are taxed at 50% of earnings Tax authorities in Germany are poised to claim 50 per cent of the money that a teenage student earned for ‘auctioning’ her virginity because they claim it was ‘tantamount to prostitution’.
Romanian-born Alina Percea, who is a student in Germany, was paid £8,800 in cash for a weekend of sex with the Italian businessman after she auctioned her virginity online.
But tax officials in Berlin regard the 18-year-old’s act as ‘nothing more than prostitution’.
Prostitution is legal in Germany – but it is heavily taxed. It also emerged that, because Alina earned so much in such a short time, she may even be liable for a hefty VAT bill too.
VAT in Germany works out to 19 per cent, meaning the sale of her virginity could land her with just over £3,000 in the end From Daily Mail
Pretty Woman Analogy A few year ago, an middle-aged plain man with an attractive young woman came to the Louis Vuitton store in Paris.
He chose an LV bag worth 50,000 euro for the young woman. When it came time to pay, the man took out a cheque book and wrote out a cheque.
The shop assistant was hesitant because the couple hadn’t shopped there before.
The man saw what the shop assistant was thinking and he said calmly: “you are worried that this cheque could bounce?
Today is Saturday and the banks are closed. Let me suggest that I leave the cheque and the handbag here.
When the cheque clears on Monday, you can courier the handbag to this lady.” The shop assistant accepted the suggestion.
On Monday, the shop assistant took the cheque to the bank. The cheque was bad! The angry shop assistant called up the customer and swore at him.
The customer calmly told him:
“What is the problem? Neither you nor I have lost. Last Saturday night, I went to bed with that girl and had a night of terrific sex and you still have the bag. I thank you for your help.”
When people have high hopes for huge future returns, they lower their guard about the potential risks.
This pretty girl thought that the 50,000 euro Louis Vuitton bag was going to be delivered on Monday, and so she lowered her guard.
She believed that her investment in the one night stand was worth it even though it was based upon huge and highly uncertain risks.
To me this is maybe why a few girls like Alina have attempted to sell their virginity on the Internet, the big pay cheque blinds them to the risks.
Alternatively, maybe what prompts their actions could be the thought of being rescued by a rich handsome Prince.
Her story has some similarities to the narrative of the motion picture “Pretty Woman”.
Film Pretty Woman Vivian Ward has found a way of living by working as a prostitute on Hollywood Boulevard. When she runs into the prince of her dreams, who comes along on his wild horse, she first does not recognize him as her saviour.
The prince, a ruthless and wealthy businessman by the name of Edward Lewis, does not know that she could be more than just a girl from the sidewalk, but he changes his decision after the first night with the beautiful stranger.
Her being the first person in a long time who could surprise him, Edward can slowly feel the light at the end of the tunnel.
He is on his way to become a better person, whereas Vivian has got a new chance to start over again. From the IMDB
Pretty Woman – Bad In the opening sequence of “Pretty Woman” Richard Gere’s character is introduced in quite a different way to that of Julia Roberts’.
He is shown interacting with other people, having conversations, driving a car, in the midst of a social gathering, and shot from the waist up, or in walking shots.
She is introduced in fragments, body parts only, butt, boobs, eye, etc. Also, it’s clear that she is intended is a certain kind of sexy, where he is powerful, respected, important in a way that she is clearly not.
The living space is in a hotel, where the letters on the sign are partially burnt out, so that it spells “HO.” Not very subtle.
An odd fantasy permeates the work: that the only difference between the girl next door and the girl hooker next door is the kind of clothes she wears.
None of the professionals I see in London have teeth as white or as numerous as Julia Roberts, certainly not past the age of 17.
Nor does the average hooker on the street choose the profession for simple lack of a good education.
No, these ladies are often forced into service, and usually bear multiple physical and emotional scars because of their work.
The thought that marriage to the right guy fixes all of that maybe is an insult to the women’s movement.From web
So even if someone auctioning their virginity on the Internet was exactly like the movie, how good is that?
Petty Woman – Good
From another point of view it looks as if Julia Robert’s character (central casting’s hooker with a heart) ‘needs’ Richard Gere’s character (wealthy financier) in order to be ‘saved’ and live happily-ever-after in heterosexist/heteronormative fashion.
The movie garnered mass feminist outrage in the mid 90s. But, I think this reading has missed many redeemable points.
Julia Roberts kicks proverbial butt in many scenes and the gender subversion of the movie has been ignored.
In the first few frames, a good case can be made that the film is actually about gender-as-performance.
Note the long beginning sequence where Julia Robert’s character is getting ready and puts on her wig, make-up, and then zips up her plastic/fake leather boots and fastens them with a safety pin.
She is totally in drag.
And, Richard Gere says so when they are both in his car and she is trying to negotiate a fee and he says,
“No one who holds her boot up with a safety pin should charge that much.”
She then proceeds to tell him how to drive his manual gearbox sports car because he can’t.
Also, I think it is important not to re-passify women by only looking at how this film’s representation of women.
Conclusion I think it is up to women to adopt whatever analogies fits for them as long they are not socially, physically or mentally coerced into a belief.
Edited 24/05/09 To me Pretty Women is a modern romantic fairytale – a tale about falling in love in socially difficult circumstances. Similar to traditional children’s bed time stories:
A socially unsuitable inappropriately dressed kitchen maid falls in love and marries a handsome rich Prince in the Cinderella story. Note she becomes a Princess by replacing her street clothes with a ball gown and crystal slippers.
A Princess falls in love and marries an ugly socially unsuitable frog so transforming it into a handsome Prince in the Frog Prince. Note the transformation takes place by the frog spending the night with the Princess.
In Pretty Woman, a socially unsuitable girl, the prostitute, falls in love with a wealthy and handsome but inhuman corporate raider “Prince” so transforming him into a more human person. The background music for him should have been ” Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)? ”.
To me it has the essential elements of a fairytale. It is the story of how the attraction between a man and woman is so strong that it can overcome any barriers put in its way. In other words, love conquers all.
So was Alina right in comparing her ordeal to that of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman?
In my opinion, yes she has broken social protocol but in the end she was not “saved” by the businessman who paid the bounty for her virginity.
Neither party fell in love but I suppose they could have, stranger pairings have happened.
Let's Cyber - when was the last time you watched Pretty Woman?
'She believed that her investment in the one night stand was worth it even though it was based upon huge and highly uncertain risks.'
This is not the Pretty Woman analogy.
Pretty Woman is about a prostitute and a city boy who fall in love. No money or goods are ever exchanged for sex. It is a romantic fairy tale.
The Louis Vuitton tale above is about two shallow people getting what they want out of each other, with the girl losing out in the end.
Whether the Pretty Woman analogy or the Louis Vuitton analogy best fits Alina's story, I guess we'll never know. Alina clearly wants us to think Pretty Woman (it was Alina who mentioned the film first remember) but I suspect it was more Louis Vuitton.
In the year 2009, Cinderella, street girl with a heart of gold, auctions her virginity on the Internet. It is bought by a rich businessman (Prince)looking for someone to fill the shoes of his departed mother. Cinders saves the day by helping him to socialise again. They get married and live happily ever after.
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