Following a scandalous radio contest “Win a Bride” held in New Zealand in March, Canada is set to continue a degrading trend of bride contests. This time, however, not a Ukrainian but a Russian woman is set as a prize.
Huffington Post reported on Sept. 8 that Edmonton’s station The Bear will hold the contest for its male audience in October. “Win a Wife” is a result of the partnership between the radio station and the Russian matchmaking site Volga Girl. To advertise it, the radio’s website has put up a picture of a sultry bride in a skimpy wedding dress adorned with a red gift ribbon. Her face is blurred and her hands provocatively reach for her mouth.
The site directs the visitors to a special application to “weed out no-hopers and time-wasters”, and promises a matrimony with a “hot chick.” The promotion offer on the site has a bulky ad-on – the winner will get a round-trip flight to Russia, 13 nights of accommodation and $500 to pamper a lady from the Volga site.
Thomas Lukaszuk, Alberta’s Immigration Minister, told the Huffington Post that he was alarmed by the contest.
"I’m very familiar with Eastern Europe, especially developing economies, and I do know that many of the women that make themselves available as Internet brides don’t do it as a virtue of choice,” said Lukaszhuk. “These women either do it due to dire economic circumstances – many are single moms – or they are coerced into it by a criminal element. We must do anything to prevent human trafficking."
Rob Vavrek, The Bear’s brand manager, said that there “appears to be some misunderstanding regarding what the actual contest entails,” alluding to the premise that it has no relation to human trafficking.
According to Vavrek, the contest does not degrade women, but rather provides people with "the opportunity to contact and meet each other in the hopes of developing a serious relationship – a concept similar to many other such contests held on reality-TV shows over the past few years around the world."
The contest claims to not carry the responsibility for the results of the Personal Introduction Experience. It’s solely up to the winner to win the trust and respect of the woman of his choice. The agency also claims to protect the Volga girl in the case of indecent behavior of the winner with the possibility of the prize being revoked.
Vavrek believes the contest is a noble venture, since the women on the Volga site don’t enjoy the same freedoms and rights as the women in North America.
To approve the final winner, the contest will involve the testimonials of the winner’s friends and family, and will even put him to psychological tests.
The profiles of the contenders tend to be less than impressive. A woman who goes by “Woo” is seeking a lesbian lover, while Michael Okeymaw once fed his girlfriend a lot of alcohol hoping to resolve relationship issues.
The results of the similar contest held in New Zealand sparked an outrage both in Ukraine and at the green continent. Upon the end of the contest, the organizers triumphantly announced that the New Zealander will be returning home with his hot Ukrainian wife. But according to tabloids, she’s still studying in Ukraine.
