Finding love or even romance in a fast-paced city has never been an easy task. This year — like past years — unattached men and women from coast to coast are bracing themselves for the arrival of the much dreaded Valentines Day.
Some singles are browsing the net and papers for singles events. Others are rethinking their wardrobes while still others are vowing to get their social lives on track so that they won’t be alone next year at this time.
Last week, I received an interesting email from a good friend. In the email, I read these words: “’Natural Selection Speed Date; Rich Guys and Hot Girls’ exclusively available for qualified men and beautiful women hosted by Pocket Change and New York Magazine.”
As a self confessed veteran of Manhattan dating rituals, I was amused. As a feminist and a promoter of women’s rights, I was horrified. But as a single professional woman in Manhattan, I was intrigued by the prospect of meeting a group of accomplished single gentlemen in one evening.
Feminist scruples took a back seat to my curiosity. It only took me twenty minutes to fill out the application form and send it in along with five photos.
Forty-eight hours later, I was notified that I was one of the 40 women selected to participate.
Telling friends about my decision to attend this event — where the selection of women participants was based solely on beauty and of the selection of the men was based solely on wealth — was harder than I had anticipated.
After the first two confessions, I began to question the choice I had made. Was I betraying women who are not physically beautiful? Am I putting looks and money before everything else that I hold so dear and hope for in a relationship?
No, I’m not.
But in our busy modern world, where it’s getting harder and harder for both men and women to find a love match, speed dating and matchmaking services are on the rise. This is my first foray into this brave new world of romance.
I sent in my application and photos as a lark, not expecting to be among the finalists. Maybe I’ll find a man to build a life with at this event, or maybe I’ll just have a very good story to share with the world.
As Walt Whitman so famously asked, "Do I contradict myself? Well, let it be so, for I contain multitudes!"
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More about Ana Nacvalovaite:
BA in Combined Studies, “Media, Politics, European Languages and Culture,” Oxford Brookes University. International law masters graduate with an LLM in Public and Private International Law, Oxford Brookes University.
Currently:
UN Advocacy Intern, International Crisis Group, New York, New York.
Managed and organized meetings, events, panel discussions for ICG, such as International Women’s Commission for a Just and Sustainable Palestinian-Israeli Peace and DCR at the Crossroads. Assisted senior management in drafting reports analyzing important developments at eh UN and conducting advocacy with the UN, NGO’s and the diplomatic community. Briefed the UN Advocacy Manager on meetings at the UN and diplomatic missions in regards to peace and security. Drafted reports for senior staff, planned advocacy schedules for field analysts, handled correspondence; scheduling appointments, meetings and maintained a program calendar. Researched issues related to women in conflict, transitional justice, post-conflict reconstruction, refugees, internally displaced persons and human trafficking in armed conflict.
Ms. Nacvalovaite is fluent in English, German, Russian, Italian, Polish, Lithuanian, and Spanish.
