Sex Manuals

Raquan Crute
Age 24
Resides Queens
Occupation Musician

Is sex necessary to sell magazines? Yes, but it’s not just magazines, it’s yogurt and cigarettes. I just saw a Camel ad with a half-naked woman wearing fishnets.

Do you read the sex-advice columns? Yes, to get tips on different styles, different moves.

Have you ever thought a magazine went too far? No, they only go as far as the people do. If Jennifer Lopez is going to wear a dress like the one she wore to the Grammys, magazines have every right to print her picture. In the summer in the East Village, girls don’t wear underpants under their dresses. Does that mean I shouldn’t look when the wind blows up their skirts?

Sandra Persaud
Age 31
Resides Queens
Occupation Lab analyst

Is sex necessary to sell magazines? Yes, but it’s not just sex. The majority of people are obsessed with three things: sex, obesity, and who’s gay.

Do you read the sex-advice columns? Yes, sometimes.

Have you ever thought a magazine went too far? Even though technically it may be too far, I still find it interesting. I want to know the "75 Most Embarrassing Questions," even though 80 percent of them are about sex.

Jemar Felix Velazquez
Age 20
Resides Manhattan
Occupation Actor

Is sex necessary to sell magazines? Magazines don’t speak to everyone. Most readers are women. I guess they do need something to sell themselves, but I rarely look at the cover.

Do you read the sex-advice columns? Sometimes. My roommates bring home Maxim. I’m more likely to read the columns about crazy things people do like guys who put a rack of needles on their heads and top it off with a bowling ball. They wonder why they have to go to the hospital with 27 puncture wounds.

Have you ever thought a magazine went too far? It’s the culture not drawing a line between sexiness and overexposure. A lot of movie stars think being half-naked in a magazine is the only way to get ahead, and magazines capitalize on that by publishing the pictures.

Eric Gleixner
Age 38
Resides Brooklyn
Occupation Rosary maker

Is sex necessary to sell magazines? I don’t read magazines. I’m only interested in comic books, where sex is aesthetic, not erotic.

Do you read the sex-advice columns? No.

Have you ever thought a magazine went too far? No, there’s an amendment protecting us; it’s called freedom of the press.

Diavanna Zarzuela
Age 24
Resides Manhattan
Occupation Actress

Is sex necessary to sell magazines? Yes, it’s all variations on "How to Have an Orgasm." A magazine with Jennifer Lopez on the cover is going to sell more copies than one with Martha Stewart.

Do you read the sex-advice columns? No. I should write one.

Have you ever thought a magazine went too far? No, the media is by nature exploitive. The things that go too far are the things that sell. Actresses who’re trying to come back pose nude for Playboy. Then they’re not taken seriously as artists. That’s the real catch-22 of the business.

James Walker
Age 24
Resides Bronx
Occupation Director

Is sex necessary to sell magazines? I don’t think it’s necessary, but I think publishers do, and so they put half-naked women on their covers. On the other hand, I myself would be less likely to buy a magazine with Derek Jeter on the cover. I can always go to the ballpark to see him.

Do you read the sex-advice columns? Sometimes, but I get most of my advice from porno movies.

Have you ever thought a magazine went too far? Too far usually means something’s just exaggerated, but kids don’t know that and so they just pick up magazines in the store. A lot of things should be sold in the adult section.

Jason Bache
Age 31
Resides Manhattan
Occupation Hairdresser

Is sex necessary to sell magazines? I don’t know if it’s necessary, but it does catch my attention. If there’s a little hottie on the cover, I’ll buy it.

Do you read the sex-advice columns? Rarely. I already feel like an expert.

Have you ever thought a magazine went too far? The inside of the magazine doesn’t, but the cover shots do. Tyra Banks on the cover of GQ might have been too much.