Brazilian Woman Sells Virginity for $780,000
A month-long auction for 20-year-old Catarina Migliorini's virginity ended this morning when a Japanese man called Natsu bid $780,000 for the "date," as the NY Daily News calls it. The auction/generally repulsive publicity stunt is part of an Australian documentary called Virgins Wanted, which will fly Catarina to the encounter and will interview her before and after the deed.
Catarina will reportedly use $722,000 of the cash to build homes for impoverished families in her home state of Santa Catarina.
"The auction is just business, I'm a romantic girl at heart and believe in love. But this will make a big difference to my area," she told Folha newspaper.
However, the "filmmaker" behind the auction has questioned whether or not she'll follow through on her charitable promises.
"I was surprised she said that because in all my dealings with her, she made it clear that it was a business decision for her," Australian filmmaker Justin Sisely said in an exclusive interview.
"Now, given how big this story is in Brazil, she's trapped. If she doesn't give any money to charity, she's going to look bad."
It's worth noting that this is a guy who's spent the last two years of his life making a documentary about people auctioning off their virginities, so, you know, feel free to take his opinion with a grain of salt.
And despite taking money in exchange for sex, Catarina denies being a prostitute. "If you only do it once in your life then you are not a prostitute, just like if you take one amazing photograph it does not automatically make you a photographer," she said, which isn't quite the same thing at all but okay.
The same auction also offered a man's virginity for sale. The final price for his V-card? A whopping $3000, which is, as The Cut notes, 260 times less than the price paid for Catarina.