Dear Editor,

We, the parents of one of the participants of the recent Bachelors Auction would like to express extreme disappointment at the apparent lack of clear guidelines and rules governing the conduct of this novel event.

This was evident from the stage performances of some of the participants.

For the record, our son's decision to participate was of his own accord, despite our strong disapproval. We feel he was influenced by the conduct of last year's event when participants engaged in simple but effective stage appearances fully attired.

We believe the very concept of an auction of this nature to be alien to Guyanese culture, beliefs and values. We are also of the opinion that it is easy for such events to degenerate into something akin to the male striptease shows seen in North America. This would further pronounce on the low moral standards of entertainment being offered almost everywhere in Guyana today.

Two newspaper reports of Tuesday, July l7, 200l revealed that the show featured "naked torsos", "stripping" and "sexy moves". Whilst not attempting in any way to condone our son's error of judgement, there appeared to be a general acceptance on his part that the event would reflect harmless fun and entertainment with accompanying charm, taste and class.

Indeed, the words of an organiser prior to the event: "We are not selling sex" now rings hollow. Considering the amount of money raised as a result of the "sexy" display by some participants, the slogan of "sex sells" seems applicable to this event. We are sure that if all the participants had demonstrated similar and even more suggestive acts the event would have garnered an amount far in excess of what was actually raised.

While we appreciate the need for fund-raising events, we would like to appeal to organisers to involve our impressionable young people in more positive and upright activities.

This we consider to be a moral imperative. In so doing, we can ensure that "smutty" entertainment is not imported and foisted on our youths.

Surely, there are more appropriate and decent ways for the Tourism and Hospitality of Guyana (THAG) to raise funds while at the same time providing wholesome entertainment.