The medical student who is auctioning off her virginity doesn't get her feelings hurt when people criticize the raunchy move. Instead, she said she takes the opportunity to start intellectual discussions.

Elizabeth Raine, 27, is auctioning a 12-hour-long date and her virginity on the Web. This has obviously brought along more than its fair share of criticisms, to say the least.

"I'm not really hurt by it," she said in an interview with Radar Online. "I'm only angered sometimes."

According to her website, the bidding has reached $550,000. Bidding ends on May 7.

"All the criticism is either really off the mark or condescending," Raine explained. "I have been working on this project for a year now. It is deeply personal, and I haven't come across anyone who has told me something that I haven't already thought of and processed."

The blond, who uses a fake name, said that she actually uses the hate mail to embark in meaningful conversation.

"It is really easy for me to dismiss the majority of the criticisms or respond and start a discussion," she continued.

Once bidding is over, the big date will happen in Australia because of the country's apparent lax prostitution laws.

"I think it really is a problem that our society is so quick to judge and comment on how others, especially women, conduct their lives," Raine explained. "I don't think it does us any good, and it certainly is not our place."

The woman is so confident in her decision that, according to Metro, she recently released a photo of her face for the first time. Check out more pictures here.

"I actually didn't like the anonymity," she said. "People mistake it for shame."

So it looks the woman known as Raine is ready to finally give away her virginity, which she describes on her website as "a small feat of social rebellion." I think it's safe to say the auction is a much bigger feat of sorts.

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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @SH____4.

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