Self-titled pick up artists Vince Kelvin, Arash Dibazar, Nick Hawk, Julien Blanc and ‘Bad Boy,’ are a group of men who have supposedly cracked the secret code to picking up women, so much so that they have begun to call it an art. This art is all about seduction and confidence, and they say they have a tried and true method that is guaranteed to help anyone become irresistible to women. They even have ways of quantifying this claim with numbers like this one: Kelvin states that he has slept with no less than 27 porn stars and made out with 230 different women in 2011. This group promises things like, ‘street to sex in 15 minutes,’ all the while stating that their seductive art is in no way a misogynistic threat to women. It is, they say, just a way to teach struggling men the ways to get with women, no matter what.
These days it seems that anything can become a commodity in our capitalistic society. These pick up artists market their so-called knowledge and advice at conferences that can last as long as three days. The lowest price is $189, which gives men access to the talks and a free goodie bag, followed by a $299 package which, at the conference, includes a meal, extra talks and study at home books. There is even a $999 Platinum VIP package that includes everything before and extra books and study materials, a DVD and digital downloads. These talks discuss things like direct and indirect game, how to touch a woman and where, and how to never accept defeat and just keep trying until you push past the point of rejection.
No, they say they are not misogynistic, they say that they are just helping those who have a hard time picking up women by selling their expertise, but is that really what they’re selling? These men are not without reputations, nor these reputations without stain. One of these men has even been banned from Australia for how misogynistic he is. Julien Blanc wore and marketed a shirt proclaiming, “Diss fatties, bang hotties,” and women’s groups rallied against him until government officials listened and decided that he would not be allowed back into the country because of what he propagated. His techniques have caused widespread outrage in the past, too, as they are said to glorify rape and assault. Other PUA’s have had charges of harassment brought against them, even sexual assault.
While the group of self-proclaimed Pick Up Artists say that their work does no harm to women, members of the group continue to tout controversial ideas and conference leader Dibazar says that men are meant to sleep with multiple women and mate with a multitude of people, while women are meant to stay monogamous no matter what. He brags about his five girlfriends, none of whom have knowledge of the other and goes on to state that marriage is a mistake for those who could have more sex without it. Having enough sex, he says, can be life changing, and he brags about how good it feels, “not be hungry anymore.”
It is interesting to look at this art, which to me seems completely unnecessary and even somewhat disgusting. With so many dating websites, bigger social networking options and more open society than ever before, it is surprising that this art form is necessary. I guess it goes to show that sex sells. So are these men actually experts? Do they really have all the secrets to finding women- foolproof ways even for the unluckiest of guys? Or are they just taking advantage of our capitalistic and misogynistic society, selling a product based in deceit and treating women like objects? A product sold by men who are even known for having criminal backgrounds for the same actions that they are selling as an art.
Is this just a symptom of the sick, twisted society that we live in? Has it really come to yet another way to take advantage of women, more ways to find ways around the word no? Capitalism really does make a product out of anything, but this so-called art that is being sold, isn’t it pushing towards something criminal?
These seduction artists are not alone in their escapades, in fact, hundreds of men go to these conferences and symposiums to become just like them. It is a product; a skill set that is in high demand within our capitalistic. But is it even an art? And what happens if what these men sell as an art- becomes a crime?
