DEAR ABBY: I'm a 27-year-old woman with many friends and a good job. I have been described by many men as "beautiful."
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My problem: I can't keep a boyfriend. The reason: I refuse to have sex before marriage. As a Catholic, I am not allowed premarital sex.
Recently a man I had been dating for four months said he loved me, but he dropped me because I wouldn't have sex with him. He asked, "Would a man in his right mind buy a car without driving it first?"
I'm frustrated and very hurt. I keep looking for decent men, but it seems they are all the same.
Sometimes I wish I were ugly; then I would know that a man liked me for who I am and not for my physical attributes.
Does anyone else have this problem? Am I crazy, or old-fashioned? I'm beginning to think I'll be alone for the rest of my life. -- ALONE IN ANN ARBOR, MICH.
DEAR ALONE: You are neither crazy nor old-fashioned. You are to be admired for refusing to do that which you feel is morally wrong. Plenty of good and decent women -- and men -- remain virgins until they marry.
And by the way, a woman is not an automobile to be taken for a "test drive" first. The man you were dating wasn't a buyer; he was a tire-kicker.