The news media had a field day this past week: New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer was discovered to have spent more than $80,000 on prostitutes.
Then came the discovery that one of his working girls, Ashley Alexandra Dupre, was a 22-year-old aspiring musician. She was tan, toned, brunette and not unlike many of us co-eds. Indeed, her MySpace photos looked similar to those of my own friends on Spring Break.
I haven't really been interested in why an influential, successful man risked everything. That story's been told. I was, however, completely engrossed by his lady of the night.
You see, I always imagined prostitutes to be like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, - walking on Sharpied high heels, speaking incorrect grammar and sporting cut-up outfits.
But Spitzer's siren was none of those things. So what would prompt a privileged, put-together woman to become a call girl? Sure the Manolo Blahniks and trips to St. Tropez are lavish and enviable, but psychologically, the job's got to get to you.
Then I realized that mentally it came down to power. And what is more powerful than eliciting money in exchange for just, well, you?
It made me think - aren't we all guilty of using sex or, for women especially, our sexual allure as a power tool? Sure we're not getting paid but we are garnering self-worth and with it, power.
I'll be the first to admit that I have attempted to acquire both through sex.
After all, the pursuit of attaining sex - of giving in to it, of rolling around the sheets with reckless abandonment - lends itself a boost in the old self-esteem meter.
The concept is nothing new, but in today's society isn't it also a bit pathetic?
Women have so many other options for earning self-respect. Going to college is a prime example. In fact, doesn't using sexuality to secure esteem seem somewhat desperate and passé? There's a woman with a viable opportunity of leading the free world, for crying out loud. Surely women have come further than this.
At the same time, sexual experimentation can be incredibly freeing. Unlike high-priced call girls, we can pick our partners, our positions, our place. We choose to be hunter or huntress, submissive or aggressive, good girl Jennifer Aniston or vixen Angelina Jolie.
It all leaves my head spinning. Sex for power: demoralizing or liberating?
Perhaps it's a bit of both. Making a career out of selling oneself or becoming a trophy wife will only lead to disappointment. After all, looks will fade and then what marketable skills can you actually reference on a resume?
Furthermore, as college students engaging in the hookup culture, we need to be equally aware that growing up requires more than knowledge of the Kama Sutra and post-hookup etiquette. It requires the maturity to recognize that power is best attained through achievement.
Nothing is sexier than that.
