Girly Gripe: Dutch Using Tax Payer Money to Makeover Unemployed Women Hoping to Get Them Off Welfare

Stepping up with a no-nonsense approach to reducing the number of women receiving welfare, a few Dutch towns are using taxpayer dollars for beauty and fashion makeovers. They get a free membership to a dating service, too. The Netherlands concept is straightforward: Physically revamp 70 unemployed women, pray they hook up with a man who will marry and support them financially and save nearly $500,000 in welfare payments.

Officials hope, too, the makeovers will help the women land a job, if finding a husband does not work out for them. We're talking face, hair, trendy outfit, a job or a husband makeover! Is this initiative so terribly wrong?

Antiquated or Hey, This Could Work

At first glance, I believed this story reeked of an outdated way of thinking, not to mention the blatant insult to women everywhere. The idea of a scheme to marry off women just to save money, made me cringe. In a moment of frustration, I contemplated sending the Dutch a nasty email. Could I convince them to surrender such an antiquated proposal?

Of course, in a female nanosecond (faster than a male nanosecond) all that irritation subsided when my eyes zoomed in on the fact that these women would be getting a "$1500" makeover. What's this? Are you kidding? Umm...yep, sure enough, it says the unemployed women would be treated to a $1500 beauty overhaul. Huzzah! The Dutch may be on to something after all!

My $1500 Makeover Hallucination

Closing my eyes, I floated away to a pricey, chic salon in the city. While a master stylist to the filthy rich devoted himself to my hair and my hair alone -- an award winning nail technician hand-painted exclusive dainty flowers on my $200 artsy acrylics.

I despise showing off, but the acrylic nails are made of rare crushed, shells, by a little-known culture of people, located on a secret island in the...well, I can't divulge that information per order of some guy named Pierre Jean something or other. Sorry!

Anyway, at the salon, I took pleasure in drinking exquisite French wine with a sexy name I could not pronounce. Nevertheless, when the stylist, Claude, served it to me in mouth-blown French crystal stemware, I spouted, "I am so totally acquainted with this fine wine." Did I overdo the "so totally?"

Like girls at summer camp, Claude and I giggled when a piece of the imported mud from my facial, plopped into the expensive wine. I drank it anyway because Claude said the mud was infused with organic mint and healthy enough to eat!

He also said it would be no problem to plump up some of the tiny wrinkles on my face (he probably noticed them while we were laughing hysterically) after I explained that I would be searching for a sugar daddy...oops, I meant husband, or a job, whichever came first (hopefully the groom) and I wanted to look my best.

While Claude fussed over my cutting-edge hairstyle, noting how much I resembled Marilyn Monroe -- I pondered whether I should go right from the salon to the dating service or should I try to find a job first? Oh, the dilemma!

Feeling close to Claude by now in a BFF-too-much-wine-sort-of-way, I asked him if he knew of any job openings. Well, yes, he did know of two high-paying jobs that were available. One was a space-engineering job and the hoity-toity law firm in the building next door was looking for an attorney, but he doubted very much that I qualified for either.

Job or Dating Service

Well, that settled it. I knew nothing about space and even with my $1500 makeover, the law firm probably wanted someone who could take notes and stuff like that. Taking notes is definitely my weak point.

Off to the dating service I would go, to meet a well-to-do husband who digs fake nails made of crushed, rare shells. He won't give a hoot that I cannot take notes, because when you look like Marilyn Monroe, you won't be taking notes anyway!

Is what the Dutch are doing OK in your opinion? Would $1500 be better spent, teaching unemployed women some skills that will get them somewhere in life? What kind of message is this approach sending to women in the Netherlands? You make the call!

Sources:

http://www.tressugar.com/Dutch-Towns-Pay-Unemployed-Women-Get-Makeovers-8743131

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7147122.ece