Sick, Stressed, and Curious About Smut

I'm sitting here coughing while holding in the back of my head to keep it from exploding.

I haven't been sick like this is a long time. I'm not _extremely_ sick, I'm just _completely_ sick. Like, I'm not bedridden and vomiting, but I am covered in symptoms: coughing, stuffed up, slight headache, tired, wheezing, pale, the mucus, etc. etc.

It's the stress. Good stress, because tomorrow, we sign what is probably almost the last batch of documents before we close escrow on The House.

I'll send out more info about the house once It Belongs To Us. Until then, I don't want to jinx anything.

In the mean time, I'm going to share a new word I made up with you: Asshead.

Asshead. A word whose time has come.

Reading it just now, didn't you picture someone who fits that description? Someone a little meaner than a jerk, but a little craftier than an asshole. There are all sorts of other something-head people, but I think that "asshead" says something that those other epithets miss.

Asshead is a descriptive term that you use _about_ someone else, not something you say to their face. In that way, it's kind of like "stinky" or "overbearing" -- words you never say to someone directly.

Try it out in conversation today, and let me know how it goes.

Now, a serious question:

At what point in development to adulthood does one stop looking at smut with other people, and begin to read or watch it only alone?

I was watching "NewsRadio" last night, and two of the characters in it went to the childhood home of the lead character, where they found dirty magazines under his bed. The scene was of them sitting on the bed, leafing through the magazines and making smartass comments. I have to say, it was jarring seeing adults behave in a way that only kids seem to, and it started me wondering.

Speaking as a guy only, I can say that I can remember several occasions as a kid watching "Porky's" or sneaking a peek at a Playboy or something raunchier that a friend had stashed in his garage or behind a bookshelf.

There were several lunch hours at school I can clearly picture where a bunch of us would huddle down with the February Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, analyzing the poses and outfits of the latest mononamed models.

But at some point, it stopped being OK to indulge one's prurient interests while among friends. Today, I can't even imagine having guys over on the weekend and watching "Revenge of the Nerds" or one of Playboy's Lingerie Slumber Party whatever videos. As for communally perusing the Victoria's Secret catalogue -- forget it! I wouldn't even feel comfortable leaving it on the coffee table.

Anyway, what I'd like to know is this: Am I accurately describing a purely male phenomenon, or do women a) read or watch salacious magazines in groups at a young age, and if so, b) do they stop doing so once they pass through some mythical, possibly puberty related age?

Let me know!

Comments