Yep, you read that right. Tom Matlack has agreed to let Penthouse run five essays from the Good Men Project book.
How did Tom come to this decision? Isn’t Penthouse exactly what the Good Men Project is trying not to be?
Tom addresses these questions in his piece, “A Match Made in Heaven?” He doesn’t necessarily agree with the editorial philosophy (uh, if you can call it that) at Penthouse. Instead, he stresses the idea that no man should be excluded from our conversation about becoming a good man—regardless of his porn-related preferences, or what he’s done in the past. And what better place to reach men than a sex magazine?
We want to invite as many men into this discussion as possible, and the six stories Penthouse has chosen to publish all have a blunt and positive message about what it means to be a man in pursuit of goodness. The fact that our written words are next to naked women doesn’t bother me. Frankly, it’s the ideal place for us to reach guys, whether or not they have any misgivings about pornography.
What do you think of Tom’s response? Still disgusted? Or can you see where he’s coming from? We invite you to weigh in, in the “comments” section of Tom’s piece.
I think it is a “win-win” as we say in the business world. It helps support your work and writing as well as reach a whole new audience who might be interested in these issues. As Tim Gunn says on Project Runway, “Make it work!”