Dear Sasha: I am a 23-year-old virgin. I have always waited for "the one" and perhaps artificially inflated the value of my virginity. In the past few months, this has become more of a burden than a point of pride. I want to get rid of it, but I'm not madly in love with anyone right now, don't think I ever have been, and could wait indefinitely for love to come about. I can't just go and do it with anyone - it's been a prized part of me for so long! I'm afraid of any wacky personal psychodrama that would ensue once I'm stripped of my status should I just flick it off of me one night. So, my conclusion is that I should sell it! I don't have any moral qualms about doing so provided the price is right, and I figure there must be a demand for this. I would like to know what your opinion is, as I've received horrified reactions from friends, most of whom are pretty liberal. Do you have any tips on making this happen safely? How do I go about finding a potential buyer? » In Search of Highest Bidder

Dear Search,
Virginity has always been a prized commodity in the business of sex.

Rosie Reid, an 18-year-old English lesbian virgin, had the British media in paroxysms recently by auctioning her hymen online, with bidding closing at $20,000, and "schoolgirls" in Japan regularly sell their virginities (yes, that's a plural) on the Net. Prostitutes and brides from virgin-obsessed cultures have done this forever, inserting sponges soaked in blood or fish bladders filled with it and making a fuss during the transaction.

I am of two minds on the matter. I see nothing wrong with peddling a rare sexual service. People need their mouths shit in and their balls stapled together, and fortunately there are qualified people out there up to the task. But I do have a personal problem with the virgin-fucking fetish. If I were to analyze it, I would say my uneasiness has to do with the currency generally being attached to the very young, and the vicious and often deadly treatment of even presumed (female) non-virgins in certain cultures and times in history.

I can assure you that part of the deal will be bareback (who's going to shell out that kind of money to be the first in there sheathed?), so you'll have to spend some time negotiating medical records unless you want an STI your first go round, as well as fielding exasperating questions about your genuine status from rubberneckers. Any prostitute has to handle idiotic phone calls and e-mails every day from people who simply want to waste their time. I imagine in your case, this will be magnified tenfold.

After considering these issues, if you still think psychodrama can be quelled by 20 grand, you might want to begin researching Web designers. Following an online screening, you may then consider vetting people out in person to make the nature of the exchange more clear.

As for the legality of your plan, I sought the perspective of a sex worker advocate: "This would most likely be considered solicitation [thereby making it illegal]," she said.

Inverted nipple alert!

From Helping Each Other for Nipple Twist ["Uninverting nipples," Sasha, March 11]: "There is a product called the Niplette sold by Avent. You can go to their Web site: http://motheringfromtheheart.com/nipletteinfo.htm and order it for $52 (U.S.) + shipping."

However, with regard to there not being enough metal to set off detectors, Master D says, "Properly tuned metal detection systems have, do and will easily detect even one teenie barbell or bead ring, even when it is manufactured entirely with the highest quality 316Lvl surgical implant grade stainless steel!" Master D "just happens" to own a couple of metal detectors and claims they're a scream at parties. "My suggestion for discreet flyers is acrylic body jewellery."

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