2008 Woodie Awards
Your Take: Date Auction is a Meat Market
DeDa Odekirk-Schuh
Issue date: 9/30/03 Section: Opinions
- Page 1 of 1
Dear Editor,
I feel like I have been violated. I just left the Date Auction. I would prefer to go to a meat market and choose a steak. At least then I get exactly what I pay for. That is what it felt like to see these men being evaluated and chosen merely by their bodies.
When I entered the dimly lit hall I could feel an air of excitement. The round tables were covered with white linen. My mouth watered as I observed the delicately laid cheesecake elegantly placed at each table and the romantic decorative candle as the center piece. I was eagerly awaiting the honored guests and wondering who would be the most successful bidder. Perhaps it would be like an antique auction or an art show where they would have examined the piece of art and already planned their top bid. The anticipation of the game drew excitement.
Are they physically attractive? Oh yeah! Are they intellectually stimulating? Who knows? I never was given the dignity to find out. In fact, I did not learn one thing about any of those men. None of their minds were challenged other than to try to out do the next one's sexual innuendos. The sexual implications intensified as each new potential date arrived. After the first man had removed his shirt, like a butcher turning a tenderloin steak over to expose how lean it is, the rest of them followed suit. When one prospective date began dancing in the lap of a girl in the front row, it was time for me to grab my coat and leave. They could have focused on how intelligent they are, their voices, the intensity of their eyes, their mischievous smiles, or those dimples. What talents do they have? Who is the best dancer, singer, actor, poet, or comedian? Come on, it would take more than a great body to turn every girl's head. They are in the same college as I am. There is so much more to them than their bodies. I really thought someone would use his mind in some creative way. How about a football or basketball in one hand for an athletic woman? Why would any girl choose a date with a man who shared nothing personal of himself?
I feel like I may have just left a strip show with my $100 still tucked in my pocket. I am a freshman and didn't expect this distasteful lack of respect for the men of Lakeland College. It is my personal opinion that they are all worth far more than any woman bid. I hope next year they will have an opportunity to prove it.
DeDa Odekirk-Schuh
I feel like I have been violated. I just left the Date Auction. I would prefer to go to a meat market and choose a steak. At least then I get exactly what I pay for. That is what it felt like to see these men being evaluated and chosen merely by their bodies.
When I entered the dimly lit hall I could feel an air of excitement. The round tables were covered with white linen. My mouth watered as I observed the delicately laid cheesecake elegantly placed at each table and the romantic decorative candle as the center piece. I was eagerly awaiting the honored guests and wondering who would be the most successful bidder. Perhaps it would be like an antique auction or an art show where they would have examined the piece of art and already planned their top bid. The anticipation of the game drew excitement.
Are they physically attractive? Oh yeah! Are they intellectually stimulating? Who knows? I never was given the dignity to find out. In fact, I did not learn one thing about any of those men. None of their minds were challenged other than to try to out do the next one's sexual innuendos. The sexual implications intensified as each new potential date arrived. After the first man had removed his shirt, like a butcher turning a tenderloin steak over to expose how lean it is, the rest of them followed suit. When one prospective date began dancing in the lap of a girl in the front row, it was time for me to grab my coat and leave. They could have focused on how intelligent they are, their voices, the intensity of their eyes, their mischievous smiles, or those dimples. What talents do they have? Who is the best dancer, singer, actor, poet, or comedian? Come on, it would take more than a great body to turn every girl's head. They are in the same college as I am. There is so much more to them than their bodies. I really thought someone would use his mind in some creative way. How about a football or basketball in one hand for an athletic woman? Why would any girl choose a date with a man who shared nothing personal of himself?
I feel like I may have just left a strip show with my $100 still tucked in my pocket. I am a freshman and didn't expect this distasteful lack of respect for the men of Lakeland College. It is my personal opinion that they are all worth far more than any woman bid. I hope next year they will have an opportunity to prove it.
DeDa Odekirk-Schuh