First of all let's make a distinction between Playboy and pornography. Playboy's women are groomed and airbrushed. They are artfully posed. They represent the artistic ideal of womanhood. Playboy is art, not porn. I consider violence, and closemindedness to be pornographic. Someday, the boys will read the Playboy Advisor. His information is funny and accurate. After that, they will read the interviews and the articles. The writing level in Playboy is among the best intellectual stuff in the US. They already know the biology, now I want them to learn about being men. You may have missed an important movement that has occured here in the U.S.. It is called men's liberation". It teaches men how to use their male energy for the betterment of society. All the bad things that come out of misused male strength, have a light side, an energy which can be used for good as well. Men who fail to grow up properly, will exibit unhealthy attitudes towards others. We need to teach our sons how to use their drives to better the world and their families' lives. I recommend the men's lib book called Raising A Son. (There is a companion book which I imagine encourages little girls to grow straight and confident despite the fact that their lower testosterone levels makes that more difficult. It is called Raising a Daughter.) The hope that someday some woman will look at a given man with that welcoming look in her eyes, is the driving force behind civilization. It is responsible for the accomplishments of thousands of generations of heterosexual men. I really liked the allegory of the men on Mars having no motivation until they built telescopes and saw the beautiful Venusians. Then their lives had meaning. Our job is to take that basic male drive, to make a woman happy, and turn it into a wonderful motivating force for good. (Men are most attracted to smiling women because they are preceived as someone who can be pleased.) They need our approval desperately. Maybe boys have that same need to please their mother. That's why a mother who disapproves of their sexual interests is so damaging. Any child behaviorists will tell you not to make them feel ashamed for mastubating. As parents, we always have to wrestle with "what's best" types of questions. Right now, my 11.5 y.o. is too old for Goosebumps stories, but I am reluctant to let him read Steven King type horror, even though his IQ is over 130. We let him see The Madness of King George, yet I won't let him see Friday the 13th movies. To me, violence is serious pornography because it is without "redeeming social value". (That is our Supreme Court's definition. ) Playboy is not pornography.  Boys have been reading it for a generation now, without turning into sex maniacs. Give it a rest already.