surreal estate

Craigslist is a widely known and used social networking site, as well as a place for posting apartment listings, job offers, and junk auctions. As a young New Yorker, I'm always scrolling through the apartment rentals listed, looking for my next leaky abode. And there are certain posts that one just comes to expect whenever s/he searches this section. There are always the obnoxious neon-colored adverts for hip Williamsburg lofts which are actually in not-so-hip Bushwick. There are usually several requests for personal billing information in exchange for "a great deal!", which is of course that deal that involves some idiot giving their identity away for a song and getting nothing but humility in return. And then there are the occasional 'by-owner' posts that go a little something like this one:

UPPER WEST SIDE PRIVATE BEDROOM/BATH, $200/MONTH

I'm a successful businessman working and living in Manhattan, but I do a lot of traveling. When I am in New York, I live alone in my luxury two-bedroom apartment on West End Avenue and 79th Street. I am looking for a college-aged female roommate who would receive deeply discounted rent in exchange for keeping me company on the rare nights that I am in the city. You would have your own bedroom and bathroom, and all of the utilities would be covered. Chef's kitchen and roof access added bonus. Close to major subway/bus lines.

Please respond with a photo and some information about yourself.

Females only need respond.

I copied and pasted that one into a word document a week or so ago. Whenever I come across one of these posts, I am both skeptical and depressed. What woman is desperate enough to answer to such a sleazy proposition? I'm not trying to be naive - I realize it probably happens all the time, and works in whatever sick fashion. But still...

I also couldn't help noticing that these posts were always (allegedly) wealthy men speaking to women of a certain age (18-30).

In response, out of curiosity, I proceeded with my own social experimental post. I used the above posting verbatim, except I changed it so that it was a "successful businesswoman" seeking a "college-aged male roommate". Males only need respond. I expected to receive angered responses or even be flagged as an inappropriate post and be removed from the website. I didn't anticipate the actual end result.

I opened a Hotmail account for the purpose of the posting, and did not check it until two days in. When I did, I discovered over three-hundred responses to my real estate listing. Just over forty-eight hours, and three-hundred-and-sixty-seven emails in return. I did not read all of them, but I gathered this much:

-At least a couple hundred men in the tristate area were super excited for this post, perhaps have been waiting for something like this for years and years. And boy howdy, do they have photos... I quit downloading the pictures after the first ten or so emails for fear of what I'd find.
-Several women responded, pissed off at my clear disregard for the entire feminist movement. (one writes, "How dare women like you even exist, go jump off a bridge PLEASE.")
-At least twenty females wrote who wanted to persuade me to accept female company to replace that of a male.
-One Craigslist Admistrator wrote to ask me to "please clarify" my listing and re-post it.

As far as I could see, there were no angry emails from men feeling objectified.


I guess people are much more desperate for a great apartment in New York than I thought.