Skid Marks

...don’t want to gross him out. How would Van suggest I tell my sex partner about this desire? Shy About These Things “I sense a time-waster here,” said Van, when I shared your letter with him. Porn stars and escorts get a lot of calls and e-mails from men who have no real interest in purchasing their time (or dirty undies), but want the porn star/escort to spend all day on the phone chatting. You struck Van as a time-waster, SATT, and that’s why he didn’t call you back. “Anyway, why can’t this man just ask his friend about this?” said Van. “If he’s having sex with a ‘pig,’ a guy who’s spanking him and shoving dirty undies in his mouth, he should be able to ask the guy to take a dump before he comes over and to not take a shower.” Van also said that skid marks are something a pervert has to specifically request. “I was brought up in a Catholic boarding school and have horrible memories of my skid-marked underwear being posted on my dorm’s bulletin board next to my name,” Van said. “I learned at an early age to clean myself very well. Even as an adult, I am religious about being ‘skid free.’ Most people are taught the same thing and look at skid marks as terrible things.” That means your friend will never give you what you need until you ask for it. Your readers should be careful about sending used garments through the mail. Yahoo! auction sites once hosted a lot of “worn panties” auctions. These auctions did very well, but Yahoo! got into trouble because come-filled underwear, period panties, and feces-stained briefs can carry disease, sexual and otherwise. It’s also illegal to send dirty underwear through the mail; I have friends who were fined for mailing these materials. Mail Order Blues “I’m not aware of any restriction on mailing underwear, clean or otherwise,” said Ernie Swanson, communications specialist for the U.S. Postal Service. “There are relatively few restrictions on what you can send through the mail. You can’t send alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs, firearms, and things that might be explosive. But there are no restrictions on mailing clothing items, clean or not.” So, MOB, these friends of yours who were fined for mailing their dirty undies: Were they friends? Or friends of friends? I suspect the latter, i.e., “friends-of-friends” in the urban legend sense, because Ernie’s only request for people mailing their dirty undies is that “the items be properly wrapped.” Amen to that, Ernie. But, you’re right, dirty undies did disappear from Yahoo! Auctions after a successful run. Why? I called Yahoo!, but everyone who hadn’t been laid off was busy issuing earnings reports and, you know, managing the collapse of e-commerce. When a Yahoo! spokesperson did call me back, it was only to read this short statement: “The ban on used underwear was consistent with Yahoo!’s existing health and safety policies,” said the flack. What can you bid on at Yahoo! Auctions? Well, I managed to find a Family Ties cast photo signed by Meredith Baxter-Birney, which I find infinitely more disgusting than, say, a pair of John Ashcroft’s soiled panties. Which only goes to show that one man’s auction-house treasure is another’s health and safety violation. I followed that porn star’s advice about mailing my dirty panties to my boyfriend. Unfortunately, my boyfriend told me that my panties arrived smelling not much different than his Weekly Standard, which came in the same day’s mail. What gives? Dave’s Devoted Long-Distance Girlfriend “The truth about mail-order undies is this,” said Van. “Ultimately, it’s not about the stench. It’s about this person you can’t be with for some reason sending you a little a piece of themself.” Some of the guys obsessed with Van live thousands of miles away. “Since they can’t be with me, the next best thing is having my soiled or unsoiled underwear. It’s about lust and worship from afar.” In that spirit, DDLDG, your boyfriend should be able to enjoy your dirty (if stank-free) undies. Thanks for your recent column on chlamydia, HPV, and cervical cancer. However, I must correct one misstatement: Chlamydia does NOT show up on Pap smears! A Pap smear is a screening test that will detect abnormal cellular changes that may or may not be pre-cancerous or cancerous. Those changes are nearly always the result of HPV (genital wart virus) infection. Chlamydia is a bacterial infection and must be tested for separately, either with a urine test or a cervical swab. Many clinicians will not do this test unless it is requested, so women should not assume that they are STD-free just because they had a Pap smear. Sexually active women should have yearly STD screenings AND Pap smears. Ingrid Nelson, Nurse Practitioner Thanks for sharing, Nurse Ingrid. I stand corrected: Pap smears and STD screenings, ladies, at least once a year. What do guys think of horrible pussy farts? There’s no way to control it. I’m hoping that guys, in general, don’t give a damn about pussy farts if the sex was good. It’s certainly not what I want them to walk away remembering. Blushing Pussy Farter I haven’t the faintest idea what straight guys think about horrible pussy farts. So let’s ask. Hey, straight guys! Horrible pussy farts: Disgusting post-coital faux pas? Or cunt-trumpeting music to your ears? Hey, Lovers: Every year, The Stranger publishes free Valentine’s Day messages because everyone at The Stranger loves love. If you’ve already sent in your free V-Day message, well, good for you. If you haven’t, well, imagine how disappointed your lover will be if he/she/it searches our special Valentine’s Day issue for a love note from you and–the agony!–doesn’t find one. Don’t disappoint your lover. E-mail your 30-words-or-less message to [email protected] by January 25. Be nice, no last names, and no excuses. [email protected]