workingfortheman.com

Chip Rowe is The Playboy Advisor. His job is to answer questions - lots of questions about sex and relationships, but also oddball queries that come up in arguments or during late night musings about the more mysterious aspects of life - like just what exactly is the "retsyn" in Certs. When a guy is too embarrassed to ask his buddies a certain question, or his buddies give him an answer he doesn't believe, he turns to The Playboy Advisor. And women write in, too. Most surprisingly is that everyone who writes in gets a response, though only the most provocative and pertinent questions get published.

Chip was nice enough to answer my queries, even though he's answering questions all day long. As I was coming up with questions to ask Chip, I got a little insecure. No doubt Chip scoffs at dumb questions, because so many probably come across his desk. But he was gracious and kind, and proved that he's pretty good at what he does.

Chip, you're The Playboy Advisor. Why were you chosen to advise the millions of Playboy readers out there?

Because I'm good at sex. Want me to prove it? An important part of being an advisor isn't knowing everything, but knowing where to find everything. So the responses I provide to Playboy readers are a combination of my own experiences, the wisdom of others and standard journalistic inquiry.

What's the best question you've ever been asked?

One of my favorites was "Have astronauts ever had sex in space?" I called NASA and they had of course gotten the question many times before, and they denied it has ever happened. I also had an editor at Playboy Russia call the space agency there. They denied it too. But if we're going to send a mission to Mars, I'm sure we'll see some weightless coupling eventually. The one thing about weightless sex is that I imagine one person has to be tied down to really get anything done.

How many questions arrive in the mail (and via e-mail) each week?

We receive about 150 a week; there are more and more coming each month by e-mail. Each person who writes receives a personal response.

Of those, how many qualify as a FAQ?

About 75 percent.

Is at least one copy of the Book of Questions given to you on your birthday every year by a friend that thinks she's being clever?

It never fails. You want a copy? Half price. I don't need questions -- got plenty of those. The answers are harder to come by sometimes.

What's the best advice you've ever given as The Playboy Advisor?

A bachelor wrote to ask for the "lazy man's" method of cleaning the dust up in his apartment. I told him to move.

What are some of the stranger subject areas you've delved into to answer readers' questions?

We receive letters about all sorts of fetishes -- feet, legs, adult babies, crossdressers, voyeurs, guys who have inserted beads under the skin of their penises. Nothing is too strange. We all have offbeat tastes -- most of us just haven't discovered them yet. As long as it occurs between two or more consenting adults, who am I to judge? Normal is dull. A fetish is only a problem if it's the only way you can become aroused.

What's the best part of the job?

When someone asks a challenging question that I wonder about myself and I'm able to track down an answer.

What's the worst part?

Reading all of what you called the "FAQ" letters -- not because we can't or don't answer them, but because I think it reflects the general lack of quality sex education in this country. It ranges from people who believe you can get AIDS from a toilet seat to guys wanting referrals to a surgeon who will enlarge their perfectly normal-sized penises. The federal government gives grants to schools that agree to teach kids that sex before marriage will cause psychological problems, and that condoms aren't an effective barrier against disease. It's called "abstinence education." The education part is a misnomer, as is the abstinence part. Anyone who thinks you can prevent teenagers from having sex by keeping them ignorant is wearing blinders.

Why do you think people turn to The Playboy Advisor?

It's a combination of things: 1) we can be frank in my answers because Playboy doesn't censor "naughty" words or honest discussion of sex and 2) the column is a fraternity of sorts for guys that offers them anonymity to ask what they might think are "dumb" questions. I also print letters from readers responding to other letters or my responses, to encourage people to take part in the dialogue. And about a third of the letters we receive are from women, some of whom are subscribers and some of whom pick up their boyfriend's or husband's copy of the magazine. In general, guys are hungry for information about sex because they feel a lot of pressure to perform.

(Go to Bookmouth.com to read the interview with Chip about some of his independent web and publishing projects.)

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