[nasional_list] [ppiindia] Rich guy seeks girl, must be virgin: Read this ad
- From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@freelists.org>
- Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 12:20:52 +0100
** Forum Nasional Indonesia PPI India Mailing List **
** Untuk bergabung dg Milis Nasional kunjungi:
** Situs Milis: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ **
** Beasiswa dalam negeri dan luar negeri S1 S2 S3 dan post-doctoral
scholarship, kunjungi
http://informasi-beasiswa.blogspot.com
**http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/23/news/journal.php
Rich guy seeks girl, must be virgin: Read this ad
By Howard W. French The New York Times
TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2006
SHANGHAI It was only a matter of time before money transformed that most
intimate of private domains, love and marriage, as it has almost everything
else in this booming country. And it stands to reason that the shock of the new
would be felt first here in Shanghai, the throbbing heart of Chinese
capitalism.
It all began with an advertiser and a lawyer, sitting with a friend who
had made his fortune in auto parts and was distraught over his recent divorce
and unable to find a suitable new bride. Place an ad, said the ad man, half in
jest, but the lawyer took him seriously and put an announcement in a newspaper
about a billionaire seeking a virgin bride.
In China's currency, the yuan, a billionaire's worth shrinks
substantially, to about $125 million. But that is still a lot of money, enough
in this case to attract a flash flood of 600 applications, complete with
photographs and detailed personal information.
That was whittled down to 100 candidates, of whom 20 were interviewed and
one was selected, finally producing man and wife.
That first virgin bride ad campaign, which occurred two years ago, has
given rise to a mini-industry: Hundreds of supposedly super-rich lonely-hearts
and hordes of young women, often professing to be virgins and hoping to meet
well-heeled men.
The lawyer, a 25-year-old Shanghai resident named He Xin, said he had
already been approached by more than 50 billionaires and had been retained by
several of them, including three he has found brides for, in a process that He
said takes about three months from start to finish. Along the way, He has also
found a bride for himself - a woman who was passed over by one of his clients.
Today, He proudly claims his work for billionaires has spawned a new line
of law in China, lifestyle law, a personalized service catering to people with
means. Not incidentally, it has spawned a debate, too, about rapid social
change in China and especially about the changing place of women in society.
Since the beginning of the economic reform era 27 years ago, perhaps no area of
Chinese life has undergone more change than the mores of dating, love and
marriage.
For centuries, Chinese practiced arranged marriages complete with
dowries, leaving little place for Western-style notions of romance.
During the long decades of hard-line communism, these practices were
updated with an infusion of Maoist social control methods. Work brigade
commissars, rather than parents and clans, decided who could date and marry and
who could not. Neighborhood committee bosses even had a say in the matter.
Only recently has the idea of living together unmarried gained limited
social acceptance in China.
In a breathtakingly short period of time, though, sexual and romantic
opportunity has sprung up everywhere in a society that still thinks of itself
as conservative in such matters. Prostitutes work openly in almost every hotel
in China. The Internet has made possible everything from online dating to nude
Web cam dancing, sprouting a vocabulary all its own, like MBA, or married but
available. Unsurprisingly, divorce rates in cities like Shanghai are
skyrocketing.
When the newspaper Nanfang Zhoumo, or Southern Weekend, ran a report
recently about billionaires seeking brides, online discussion groups were
flooded with commentary from readers, often focusing on the matter-of-fact
comments of one woman who applied but was passed over by a billionaire.
"Isn't the purpose of saving our virginity to get a good price?" she
asked.
Many readers deplored the woman's response, condemning people like her as
little better than prostitutes. "I'm also a well-educated woman with a good
figure, too, but I hate this kind of thing," one reader wrote. "People's beauty
derives from their inner qualities, not their virginity. Those girls have sold
themselves like cheap merchandise."
Others ridiculed the billionaires. "If they think they can get a
pure-hearted girl this way, they are really mistaken," wrote another
commentator. "To me, the way people are taking virginity as a commodity these
days is such a sad thing."
In an interview, however, another young woman, who had replied to a
billionaire's ad but was passed over, offered a stout defense of her choice,
one that amounted to a brief for personal and sexual freedom.
"Things are different from before because everyone has a right to
choose," said the applicant, Wang Yue, who said that in a physical relationship
feelings can always be developed later.
"It's very easy for me to support myself. Without men, my life wouldn't
be hard. But if I'm standing on a giant's shoulder, I can see further."
The confusion over love, sex and marriage is probably a passing phase,
one expert says.
"China is a society in transition, and for the last 20 years, people have
been basically going after material things," said Yang Xiong, an expert of
youth culture at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. "Give it another 20
years, and I would say very few people would pursue billionaires just for their
money. Right now this seems like a fresh topic for discussion, but in 10 years
nobody will give a damn."
Even in a China that is becoming more money-driven by the day, Shanghai,
with its glitter and flash, has a very special reputation. The women of the
city, in particular, are often spoken of as being driven consumers and the most
demanding of wives.
In several days of interviews among young women here, though, it became
evident that the billionaires out to buy love have their work cut out for them.
One after another, young women said the verdict of their hearts was more
important than the cost of their wardrobe or the weight of their purse.
"I have to take time to see if a man is quite suitable for me or not,
because life is a long course," said Su Jie, 23, an airline stewardess as she
ate a Korean barbecue with a friend.
"I can make money for myself, maybe not so much, but enough," she said.
"It's more important to me that we understand each other."
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
***************************************************************************
Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg
Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia
***************************************************************************
__________________________________________________________________________
Mohon Perhatian:
1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik)
2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari.
3. Reading only, http://dear.to/ppi
4. Satu email perhari: ppiindia-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
5. No-email/web only: ppiindia-nomail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
6. kembali menerima email: ppiindia-normal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ppiindia-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
** Forum Nasional Indonesia PPI India Mailing List **
** Untuk bergabung dg Milis Nasional kunjungi:
** Situs Milis: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ **
** Beasiswa dalam negeri dan luar negeri S1 S2 S3 dan post-doctoral
scholarship, kunjungi
http://informasi-beasiswa.blogspot.com **
Other related posts:
- » [nasional_list] [ppiindia] Rich guy seeks girl, must be virgin: Read this ad
