Up until recently, I thought I was a face gal. Give me a man with a beautiful pair of eyes framed by long lashes, along with a full set of soft, kissable lips, a sexy smile, and my heart – and other body parts – instantly melted.

Oh, sure, the guy’s body was important, but it’s his face that had always captured my attention first. Because it’s his face that I had to stare at 95% of the time during our interactions.

But, now, I feel a change in the air.

After reading Bonnie Edward’s blog about What is Sexy? and writing my guest blog titled I Need a Man – both at Naughty and Spice – I’ve been forced to admit the obvious.

That I’m becoming a total body girl – broad shoulders, rock hard abs, muscled thighs … There is no body part that I won’t admire (though I will admit that feet are at the bottom of my list).

And, if that wasn’t enough, I fear that I’m becoming attracted to men in uniforms.

While walking down the street last week, a police officer stopped me. Was my heart racing because my mind was scrambling to determine which law I’d broken? Or was it racing because of the muscular body and flat stomach encased in the navy uniform? The authoritative hand-on-the-holster stance? Or the half-smile playing on his face and the mystery lurking behind the sexy shades? When he asked me for my number, I decided that the law was not the source of my thrill.

Then, there are the men in motorcycle leathers. Now, until I bought a bike and started riding, I was completely immune to the appeal. But now, one glimpse of a muscled chest, back, or thigh encased in leather as a big, gleaming, bike passes by me and my heart does this odd little jump.

So is it just me – or do you find that what you once found physically attractive about a man is changing? When it comes to a man’s body, what do you find sexy? And, if you’re not into guys, don’t feel left out - I’d love to hear your thoughts as they pertain to women.

… uh … um …

… He’d have an unfair advantage. Yes, yes, that’s it. He’d have an unfair advantage because, last month, I interviewed both Todd and Terry on my live talk show, “Chatting with Chase” (and Terry wrote a lovely poem for me afterwards).

So, listen to the show, check out his entry below — and you’ll understand why his picture says a thousand words. And then tell me … do you think Terry should be allowed to enter the contest?

Name: Terry T.
Age: 25
Occupation: Romance Analyst and Dating Expert
Hobbies: Love-making, pleasure, sensuality, doing it
Web Site:
www.thelonesomelosers.com
View Photo #2: Terry T. Photo #2

Listen to Terry’s SEX LOUNGE Excerpt:

Have you ever helped a woman live out her fantasies?: “Many times. It’s almost ridiculous even answering this question.”

Tell us about it : “I don’t know if I could pick the “best” example. That’s the whole reason my friend Todd and I started a web show giving dating advice; we knew people could benefit from our natural expertise.

If there’s one thing I have in common with Derek Mitchell, it is that I am completely and naturally in touch with what women find SENSUAL. You have to know how to push the right SENSUAL BUTTON, and I, like Derek, know exactly what that button is. I have a natural tact at discovering a woman’s sensual fantasy.

I’ll give you an example: I was on a first date with this hot little vixen, and as we were walking down the street after dinner, she just had to stop every dog that came along and touch it, pet it, coo at it. She loved dogs.

Flash forward to our second date: Vixen and I are making out heavy upstairs in my crib, pretty standard stuff. But I’m not a standard guy, and I wanted her to live out her fantasy, so I got to thinking… what would really push her ’sensual button’? What would she consider ‘living out her fantasy?’ And then it hit me: DOGS.

I told her I had to slip downstairs to get some massage oil (yeah, right). So I snuck downstairs, grabbed an old fur scarf thing of my mom’s, and threw it into a blender with some School Glue. I turned it on high power, and blended up a viscous concoction… a concoction that I felt certain would lead to love. I smeared it all over my body until my naked torso was covered in fur (next time I might use a different adhesive: the glue took a few days to come off, and I couldn’t use the bathroom during that time, but it was worth it).

When I returned to the bedroom, my little vixen went wild… wild with passion. She loved it, and as my furry, sticky body met her soft skin, I knew she was living out her dream.

Derek would have done the same. When she and I left the hospital a few days later, I knew she’d fulfilled a fantasy, and I’d just done my job.

Rachelle, meet your new Derek Mitchell.”

Okay, sure, so sometimes I can be a bit naïve. But I didn’t think my naivety would apply to this contest. However, it has, for, I actually thought:

Naïve Belief #1: Men Will Flock to My Contest in Droves

Now, why did I think this, you ask?

Because I’ve seen statistics on the number of times per minute/hour/day that men think about sex. I’ve heard my guy friends complain about how much they want sex and how little their wife/girlfriend is giving them. I’ve overheard guys declare with pride in coffee shops, bars, restaurants, etc. how hot Vanessa or Cindy or Keisha thought he was. I’ve witnessed the Bar Scene Mating Ritual and seen the guy’s chest puff up when the woman he’d been making eyes at sent him that I-think-you’re-hot smile.

So, all this led me to naively assume that men would:

• Love the opportunity to be a sex symbol, to be desired by women all over cyberspace
• Love the opportunity to be open about sex and romance
• Be comfortable with their sexuality

Instead, some of the responses have surprised me. Yes, there are men – like Julian, Fred, Chris, and others - who met my expectations above. But they have been the exceptions. For every one hundred guys I approached about my contest, fewer than five were receptive.

Some of the responses — like the common “I’m not hot enough”— were endearing, because they revealed a male vulnerability I wasn’t expecting. Which showed me that men, just like women, compare themselves to what society (or Hollywood) promotes as hot – and find themselves lacking.

Other reactions shocked me. Like the model/actor who’d admitted that he’d been a “perpetrator of degrading women” but found Derek to be “lacking any substance, materialistic, and, frankly, offensive.”

But the piece de resistance occurred during my recent guest appearance on Playboy Radio when the host, Tara Mack, asked callers to give me a word for “vagina” to use in a book. When pressed to give an answer, two guys actually hung up.

So I’d like to talk about this. Are guys shy about going public with sex? If given a chance, do guys really want to be a sex symbol? Are men comfortable with their sexuality? Men and women, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

As a former Senior Vice President at RCA/BMG and independently, Bill Rosenfield is the executive producer of over 50 Original Cast Recordings of Broadway productions, including the currently running Chicago, Avenue Q, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, as well as the Tony Award winning musicals Thoroughly Modern Millie, Urinetown, Cabaret, Ragtime, Titanic, Assassins, and Fosse.

Most recently, he served as Executive Producer on Oprah Winfrey’s The Color Purple, Curtains (starring David Hyde Pierce) and Legally Blonde.

When I went to New York last year with fellow writer Mary B. Morrison, we bought tickets to see The Color Purple and sat in the third row from the stage.  It was awesome! I laughed and cried - even more than I did during the movie. And the soundtrack is fantastic.

Now, I can’t wait to go back and see Curtains!

Please join me in welcoming Bill Rosenfield.

Hopefully, you’d like to join our cast of celebrity judges. The winning judge will win a Sony VAIO laptop computer - just like the winning Derek. And if you know of a candidate for Derek, make him enter.

In the meantime, I am beginning the arduous task of finding Dereks. It’s a tough job … sigh … but, well, a serious writer makes serious sacrifices for the sake of her craft. Below are just a few ’sacrifices’ I’ve made so far.

Romantic Times Convention - April 25 - April 29, 2007  

Jason, a Mr. Romance contestant (who won the Mr. Romance title) was kind enough to take a photo with me. The leg thing … well, that was my idea.		Ellora’s Cave cover model, Julian, took a photo with me, too. The hand thing … that was not my idea. But I don’t look like I’m complaining, do I?

 

Does Julian look fantastic in white or what? Alas, I had to share him with friend and fellow writer, Calista Fox. But I did get a dance with him later - one that I didn’t share.

Yet another sexy Mr. Romance contestant, Fred. Does my expression look a little … dreamy to you?		Mr. Romance contestant and debonair dancer, Chris. Not only did Chris pose with me, he twirled this non-dancer on the dance floor, managing to make me look poised and graceful - or so I was told. A heavenly experience, to be sure.

So, what do you think? Is it just me or do you think all of these guys would make an awesome Derek?