Rent a man for the holidays

For women who are tired of hearing family members ask why they are single at Christmas family gatherings, 'rent a boyfriend' is a trending keyword on many search engines, and online shopping sites.

Some may believe that this trend could easily take off in Jamaica, but Reverend Carla Dunbar is hoping it doesn't.

She said that this practice is deception at its finest.

"It doesn't line up with full truth and anything that is deceptive is deception. One of the reasons people have to go through all of this stuff is because of the pressure from family and society to have a boyfriend/girlfriend. I really don't know who determines the timeline that one should be single. There should not be any pressure from any one including the church," she said.

She stated that Jamaicans are copycats, so it's hard to rule out that Jamaicans won't hop on the 'rent a date' bus.

"I can't speak for the entire Christian fraternity because the fear and the awe is not what it used to be for everyone. We are not perfect people, but good sense ought to prevail and our loyalty to God should prevail. Something cannot be half true. So taking home a rented man is not something I would want to take off," she said.

Sexologist Shelly-Ann Weeks said that while she is excited and in love with the rent a date idea, she is highly doubtful that this trend will take off in Jamaica.

"Jamaica has a different culture and we don't feel the need to go through these lengths to impress our parents. But I like the idea because I think it would help some lonely women this holiday season," she said laughing.

Weeks reasoned that Jamaican parents would try to find out who the mystery man is.

"Suppose him come and start act nice and 'Christianny'? Then they are going to go around and ask which church he attends and then he better know the Bible really well. So unless he is much of an actor, I don't know how he is going to pull that off," she said.

Weeks suggested a hired boyfriend would be beneficial as a date at parties.

"It would be like a 'parri' that you rent for the Christmas. Give him a job description and if he is willing to do it at the agreed charges, then why not?" she said.