
I have a question or two for some of you who are a bit more worldly wise than
me.  Maybe you can give me some answers

While I was in southern california a while ago and saw one of these newspapers
that they sell out of the machines for swingers.  I'd heard about these but
never seen on.  Now, to say the least I couln't belive it. BUT, I've got some
questions.  So try not to laugh, for these may be a bit naive
 <grin>

1. Is this for real?  Or is this just a bunch of hookers advertising?

2.  How can they give phone numbers (they all do)? Wouldn't they get calls fro
all kinds of wierdos in all hours of the night?

3.  What does "out call only" and "in call only" mean?

4.  How come nearly every woman's picture in the entire paper is this beautifu
body?  I mean, do they expect us to believe that there are all these gorgeous
women out there who can't find anyone to have sex iith and so they have to
advertize for it?  What about all the ugly women?  Don't they advertize?

5.  How come there were very few ads from men?  I would think it would be
 the men who would be advertizing, not the women.

6.  Do people really respond to those ads, or do they just buy the paper to
look at the pictures?

7.  What are these people really selling?  I mean like one ad says "want to
exchange photos"  Are they selling them??  I mean, why would anyone do that if
they wern't looking to make money from them?  Would people really send naked
pictures of themself to strangers?

8.  What are these phone numbers who say, call and we will match you up with
people who want to have sex with you etc etc.  What's their angle?

9.  If these swingers really do swing...don't they catch every thing there is
to catch.  Doesn't sound like the healthiest way to live.

Anybody got any answers??



<sigh> Poor little Roger. Gotta keep him down on the farm, so these city wiles
won't get him taken advantage of. <grin>

I don't know all the answers to your questions, but I'll try:

1.  Is this for real? Just as real as the "massage parlors" who give rather
considerably more than massage.

2.  Anybody who puts her phone number in a paper like that is going to get
weird phone calls at all hours. That's why so many of them are linked to
answering machines and message services.  You might ask Sarona Collins how she
handles the calls that come to her.

3.  "Out call only" means that she comes to the place you specify. "In call
only" means that you go to the place she specifies.

4.  The pictures are of beautiful women because that's what guys fantasize
about.  Guys tend not to fantasize about ugly women, do they?

5.  How come so few ads from men? Because women generally don't go out looking
for sex they can buy.  And they generally aren't into anonymous sex.  Nor sex
without some sort of relationship.

6. Some people respond to the ads.  Let's face it, the ad is marketing. One
doesn't continue to market a product unless there is some sort of demand, with
a profit associated with it.  Ads cost money. Ergo, the people who continue to
place the ad are finding some sort of benefit associated with the ad.

7.  Would people really send naked pictures of themselves to strangers? Some
people do, Rog.  It's called advertising.

8.  What about the "matching" services?  <sigh> Yet another euphemism, my
friend.

9.  You're right about swinging, I suspect.  There are now some studies that
are showing a small but discernable percentage of hookers carrying the HTLV
virus, and who are still sexually active.  The ol' "exchange of bodily fluids"
in the wrong places ain't confined to the gay male population any more.

But then, what do I know? I'm so innocent, and naive.....<grin>

<Hugs>

Elna


Do you mean to tell me that all the people who advertise in these are pros?  Do
"swingers" advertise anywhere or is that just a myth?



Rog -- I can't guarantee that *everybody* who places a classified ad there is a
ro.  But pros use newspapers like that. A lot.  People who class themselves as
"swingers" generally prefer local groups, the contact for which tends to be
passed from person to person along a grapevine.  There are "clubs" for swingers
in probably every major city in the country -- but the whereabouts tends to be
known only to the locals who have an interest, and to selected visitors.

I'm not speaking for personal knowledge, understand. I've talked to people who
have been participants, and I'm basing my answers on things I've learned from
them.

<Hugs>

elna



Hmmmm, how interesting.  I'm suprised that the police let it be so open.  And,
if every massage parlor doesn't give massages, where does one go to get a REAL
massage??

Boy, I have lots of questions don't I?  <grin>



A real massage? Probably at a holistic health center, luv.

<Hugs>

Elna



Dear Roger:

I see Elna has given you a very comprehensive reply.

However, there *are* magazines that carry non-commercial contact
advertisements. One of these is "Kinky Contacts". There you will see people
advertizing according to their interests. There is a large tv section, for
example, and a section for couples who want a third person. There are also a
lot of advertisements from dominant ladies, but I believe most of those are
probably from professionals or semi-professionals. And there *are* also
advertisements from men.

Of course, those of us who are more sophisticated use electronic kinky contacts
(otherwise known as Section 8)!

Seriously, though, I think some of these magazines do serve a purpose. How else
would a couple who wanted to meet a tv to join in their fun and games go about
finding one?

Best wishes ... Peter



So tell me the scenario.  An ad says something like "couples wants to get
together with single men.  Or will share photos.  Write for info and send
picture and phone number"

So, if somebody answers that ad, what happens??



I believe that a lot of people are interested just in writing and sharing
photos. But these ads to lead to actual "contacts" too.

I wonder whether any other members can enlighten us further. I've never
explored the possibilities of contact mags myself.



In Canada, go to a registered massage therapist (RMT). This is a problem many
legitimate masseurs ans masseusses experience.


If you want a REAL massage, check out ads in regular newspapers. Look for the
certified therapeutic masseuses ... they're on the up-and-up, since the people
who want the OTHER kind of massage look other places to find parlors. (Least
that's the way we do it in Texas.)



Well, Roger....
 
Having met a few people who do advertise, & reply, I know that at 
least a few are for real.
 
As an experiment for a class, I once answered several ads.  Out 
of 25 tries, I got 12 responses, and actually carried out lengthy 
correspondence with 2, even after telling them why I had written 
in the first place.  Of the remaining 10, I eliminated 8 before 
my "confession" for various reasons, i.e. pros, requests for or 
offers of money, etc.  The last two were also real people, but 
requested that they not be made part of my data, and 
consequently, our correspondence concluded fairly early on.
 
Huggss,   Kathy


Hmmmm, interesting.  What did the real people want (before they found out why
you had answered the ad)  What did the pro's want?  What was the justification
for requests for money? Were these ads from men, women or couples?

Lots of questions eh?? <grin>



There are indeed real contact magazines: you can recognize them because they
are 50% men looking for women, 40% couples looking for couples or women and 10%
women looking for some combination of M/W/C. (and half the women are still pros
or total rip-off).
        If you are interested in this method of meeting someone, I would try a
broad minded personals section in a straight publication, or the ad section of
a journal devoted to your interest (since this is section 8, I am assuming a
non-standard interest).  If you're 'normal' you can probably do fairly well--
at least it's better for the liver thant the bar scene.
        I have run my phone in ads, and gotten all sorts of calls.  It was
educational.
        For a single male, my experience is that you do  better running your
own ad:  a womans ad gets literally hundreds of responses, and even if your
response is attaractive she's liable to have dumped the whole bagful in the
trash.  You'll get 2 or 3, but they'll be real.
        The key, in either an ad or a respnse, is to proesent yourself as a
real person, interested in meeting a real person. (the Boston Phoenix realizes
this and deliberately edits 'kinky' (does not include gay by their definition)
ads to ba as unattractive as possible)
        Frank



Just a short question to the more knowledgeable types out there: Which of the
contact magazines are best from a response, nationwide distribution, and amount
of readership standpoint?  I am most interested in the "slick" magazines, not
the newspaper types.  Anybody have any experience/ideas on the subject?




I was amazed to learn that there are almost as many couples advertizing as
there are males. It looks as if the group scene is very popular. Can you break
down those ads even further, e.g. what proportion are looking for another male,
what proportion for a female, and what proportion for another couple? That
would be most interesting.



I suspect the high couples ratio is because they have a tolerable success rate:
They do hear from other couples, _plenty_ of single males if they'll accept
them, and probably do as well with single females as single men do. Single men
on the other hand get damn few replies and thus get discouraged. I would guess
that over half the couples want couples or female, with just couples coming
next.  Just females is about tied with couples, males, females, and males only
is a _very_ distant Nth. (I have seen such, but they're rare).  Say 55, 25, 10,
10 percent.
        That's a quick and dirty guess, and rememberthat my sample is heavily
biased to BD/SM.  Another reason for the heavy couples presence in 'Swinger'
pubs might be that singles can play word games in straight personals, whereas
couples are kinda stuck.
                Frank



Kenneth, I have found that only publications like The New York Review of Books
have much legitimacy--see the personal ad section therein.  The magazines like
Latent Image apparently have something going, as they have been around for a
long time.  Most of the people I know who have tried to connect through
swingers mags have been disappointed; I would be interested to see if anyone
responds to you who has matched up.       John T.


