The Pickup Artist Phenomenon: Is Romance Dead?

SPARKS, Nev., Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- In the old days, getting luck was enough. You see someone you like and shyly conjure enough courage to talk to her or ask her out. If you were lucky she would say "yes" and if you were really lucky you could maybe get some action later. Gone are the old days!!! In current times luck is not a factor all that matters is game. The power
does not lie solely with the girl. The power lies with the skills the man possesses.

So says a new generation of men who refer to themselves as Pickup Artists (PUA), Pickup Gurus (PUG), and Players. Who are these guys? They're your brother, your friend, the computer geek, and the accountant.

They're the guys that you see hanging out around the clubs, the bars or even the malls. They're the everyday guys that you would least expect. Many start out as low self-esteem guys that never had their pick of the ladies but have now decided to do something about it.

Enter books like "The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists," by Neil Strauss (ReganBooks), and "The System: How to Get Laid Today!," by Roy Valentine (Eye Contact Media). These are the two current bestsellers on how to become a Pickup Artist.

In "The Game," Strauss (a rock/culture critic) transforms himself from an average guy to pickup guru (aka Style). He achieves this transformation by learning from and emulating the best pickup artists he could find in a community created by Ross Jeffries, an expert on Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) - a mind-control technique. One of Style's main mentors was Mystery, a suicidal PUA that uses magic and various attention-getting techniques to
seduce girls.

"The System" takes a different approach. Valentine, a technology and business expert, personally developed and tested his system in "over 20 countries on 5 continents." "The System" is based on reading and understanding women's body language to determine their level of interest and acceptance during the entire seduction phase (from introduction to having sex). He also uses a Rapid Implementation approach, a process used by corporations "to do something in the fastest and most effective way possible."

Valentine's book is what the PUA community calls "a seduction guide." It's the specific steps required to go out, meet and pick up girls. The community refers to Strauss's book as "a tale of the community and should not be seen as a pick-up guide."

With this new trend in the way men think about and approach women and dating with "What's next? Is romance dead?" "No," says Valentine. "It's human nature. Love will always trump the end game."