$20,000 virgin auction? What the?

According to http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/film/2009/05/11/1241893898042.html The Age Newspaper here in Australia:

Posters appearing around Sydney are offering $20,000 for virgins to appear in a feature-length documentary. But the fine print reveals the would-be stars - a man and a woman - must be prepared to be filmed as they auction their virginity online. In return, they get the cash, 90 per cent of the winning bid and, one presumes, a good night out.

Outraged family groups have labelled the project prostitution. The man behind it, Melbourne filmmaker Justin Sisely, says he is merely exploring the idea of virginity as a commodity.

"One of the main points I want to make is that right now, young people give away their virginity. Imagine if it was suddenly worth something - people wouldn't throw it away," he said.

But he does concede the prostitution argument: "You can't deny that selling sex is prostitution. It is. That's what makes it controversial."

Indeed, controversy has been the star before a scene has been shot. Police were called to Melbourne's Monash University after complaints about posters and postcards on campus.

In Sydney, posters featuring the Virgin Mary with male genitalia drawn on her forehead have brought complaints.

Moufid Sukkar, who attends a Catholic church in Marrickville, contacted the film company, Thomas William Productions. "They told me to go tell someone who cares," he said. "I found it really offensive. There are three churches on that street."

A Sydney student, Ben Smith, 22, has applied for a role but may not proceed to audition.

He was less interested in the money than the exploration of attitudes to sex. "[The auction] really shouldn't be as confronting as it is and it's a sad reflection on society that it is such a touchy subject," he said.

He said he is waiting for the right woman to yield his virginity. He has had several relationships of more than a year but sex never became an issue. "Maybe it's because women are less pushy about it."

Mr Sisely, who is funding the film, said he had been contacted by about 100 people, most in their early 20s. The oldest was 26.

The two stars would be filmed visiting psychologists and taking a lie-detector test to ensure their purity but the deed would not be screened. "It's not a porno," Mr Sisely said.

All I have to say is this: Im not a virgin... and Im not sure that holding out for $20,000 to have someone bid on it would be worth it to me anyway... regardless if I get 90% of the bid... at least I can say, that although, sometimes not very GREAT choices... AT LEAST I got to pick who I was sleeping with. Your virginity is something you always remember, you always remember the name, the location... etc. I cant imagine for the rest of my life knowing that its filmed and ANYONE can access it.

Im sorry, but my virginity was not available for sale back then, but I still shudder at the thought of being paid, and having it publicly aware of "losing my virginity".

Strange to me.