Buy My Love: On Sex Workers, Gold Diggers, and "Rules Girls"

Abstract

In their wildly successful dating guide, Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider make their readers a promise: "Follow 'The Rules', and he will not just marry you, but feel crazy about you, forever! What we are promising you is 'happily ever after'. A marriage truly made in heaven." As a 1996 'New York Times' Bestseller, 'The Rules: Time-Tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right' spawned multiple sequels, including 'The Rules II: More Rules to Live and Love By' (1998), 'The Rules for Marriage: Time-Tested Secrets for Making Your Marriage Work' (2002), and 'The Rules for Online Dating: Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right in Cyberspace' (2002). Referred to as "the original dating bible" by 'American Woman' magazine, these dating guides created a movement of followers called "Rules Girls," who believe that Fein and Schneider will lead them down the aisle into marital bliss.