Individual’s actions not representative of society

“Upscale executive seeks beautiful female 18-24 to live in his luxury condo in Coral Gables for $1/month in exchange for some light duties. Help take care of dog, cook occasionally. Sex 2x/week. Serious inquiries only. Please e-mail a picture for consideration.”

This ad appeared on http://miami.craigslist.com, and it has the Miami-Dade Police Department concerned. The department believes, “It is a form of prostitution because they are enticing young girls” with little money.

But whatever woman ventures to call this “upscale executive,” deserves what she gets. The expectations couldn’t be more precise-and you just can’t beat the price.

A member of the feminist organization Women’s Movement Now said, “Advertisements soliciting women for sex in exchange for housing are offensive and disturbing. They are an indicator of how much work still needs to be done to eradicate institutional inequities and harmful attitudes toward women that persist.”

But if a woman agrees to the terms of that ad, it sends a message about her and her only.

The police and feminist groups must stop trying to stand up for people that don’t mind being degraded. Society is so quick to think about the collective effects of an individual’s actions, when it has-and will never have-anything to do with the whole.

Let grown folks do what they want to, as long as it’s legal, and we’ll all get along fine.

Samantha Long for the editorial board.