THE PLAYBOY ADVISOR ON LOVE AND SEX

Fans of Petersen's Playboy column will find ten years worth of wisecracks-cum-information neatly classified here. Section I centers on the body: men are reassured about the size of their penis, women are reassured about the effects of going braless, everybody is set straight about which drugs are harmful and which are--well, illegal but nice. (""Can strychnine be used as an aphrodisiac?"" asks L.B. in Kansas City. ""Only for necrophiliacs,"" The Advisor enjoins.) This is also where one goes for talk about contraception (the comparative strengths of English, Japanese, and American condoms) and about sex-related diseases (herpes? never, never say ""incurable""). But Section II, ""The Pursuit of Pleasure,"" is probably what readers identify with most. This is where people write in to brag about their achievements--like the Oklahoma high school cheerleader who has great sex with her band-player boyfriend if he spanks her with a three-foot paddle first (a technique her parents taught them); but oh, how can they get that stinging feeling to last? Others anxiously seek reassurance--which is always forthcoming--that various oral/anal/manual/digital (as in toes) combinations are ""normal."" (They take their responsibilities seriously: one motorcycle mechanic perfects his cunnilingual technique by removing champagne corks with his tongue.) A final section answers questions from both sexes about the relationship aspect--because the letters prove, says Petersen, that ""the most interesting sexual developments happen within relationships."" A good point--if not the point throughout.