No really, I’m just paying for school

A carer advice speaker at a Palo Alto middle school may have seen his last paying gig at the school after recommending stripping to a group of 8th graders. From the AP article:

Management consultant William Fried told eighth-graders at Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School on Tuesday that stripping and exotic dancing can pay $250,000 or more per year, depending on their bust size.
“It’s sick, but it’s true,” Fried said in an interview later. “The truth of the matter is you can earn a tremendous amount of money as an exotic dancer, if that’s your desire.”
Fried has given a popular 55-minute presentation, “The Secret of a Happy Life,” at the school’s career day the past three years. He counsels students to experiment with a variety of interests until they discover something they love and excel in.

Now I can see why parents may be unhappy with this, but in a marketing culture that is more and more willing to embrace the tween as a profitable segment of the population, can we really pretend to be offended with a straight face? In the years before she went to college I tried to convince my sister that stripping was the thing to do, if it was done right. How many young women have the skill sets right out of high school necessary to earn $250,000 a year? Is it really that bizarre to exploit yourself for profit if it is done safely and with solid investment and exit plans? By the age of thirty one could be looking at a comfortable retirement opposed to just begging to climb the corporate ladder with a sense of direction. As a parent what is healthier, teaching your children to safely exploit their assets or be exploited as a consumer by Mary Kate and Ashley?

link via metafilter

Post by: Brendan | January 15, 2005 | Filed Under everything else