CHAPTER NINETEEN -- HERE A BULGE, THERE A BULGE, EVERYWHERE A BULGE BULGE

(Did You Sleep With the Models?)

In an earlier chapter I referred to the fiction in Mandate, Honcho, and Playguy as heavy breathing and testosterone-laced. Although the narrow erotic genre has definite limitations, I nevertheless tried to reduce predictability by broadening the frontiers of our turn-on stories. I began the campaign with an information packet for potential contributors -- this in addition to our regular writers' guidelines, which most magazines in those days routinely mailed on request. Included with the guidelines was a copy of an article titled "Helpful Hints on How to Put Words Together," from a recent issue of U.S. News and World Report. As with the university presses (see Chapter Eighteen, Part Three), I was surprised that this conservative-leaning magazine gave permission to reproduce the article. The third component of my amelioration kit was a copy of Leigh W. Rutledge's article "Why Is Gay Pornography So Bad?", which created a stir when it ran in Mandate.