Natasha, 27

How long have you been in advertising?
I've been in advertising for four years, and if you include internships and stuff, probably like five or six years.

Why are women in advertising better lovers?
Because we're witty and fun and we know how to have a good time at happy hour. We are thinkers — we have to be — and everyone wants a thoughtful lover, right?

Mad Men-wise, are you a Peggy or a Joan? Or an Ida Blankenship?
I'd say I have Joan's personality with Peggy's job. Peggy, in the early seasons, wants to do right all the time and is really professional. That's what we have to do here, every day. And as you get promoted, you have to be a leader and take responsibility for every single thing that you do. So in that way, I'm like Peggy. But then I'm also really sassy and don't give a shit sometimes. And just to survive in this business, you need to have a good head on your shoulders, be grounded and stand up for what you believe in, and not let people take advantage of your time. So I'd say both.

Do your advertising skills help you in the art of seduction?
Yeah! I can be really persuasive. If I can convince someone that they should spend fifteen times more money on your product than they would on some generic brand, then I'm sure I could convince someone to go on a date with me.

Is there ever any sexual tension at work, like in Mad Men?
Yeah. I know coworkers who sleep with other coworkers. I personally don't. I think that would be really stressful. But it's not uncommon at all. I think company parties in advertising are a really important part of all that sexual-tension release. All day long, we slave over deadlines and are forced to be creative in sometimes very uncreative situations. And we get shot down a lot. So when it's time for us to all get together and celebrate, people go buckwild. There are a lot of drunken makeout stories. A lot of the scenes of holiday parties in Mad Men are super-realistic.

Being in the creative department, are you able to handle rejection well?
Definitely. If you have a problem with rejection, you shouldn't even be in this business. But I mean, who wants to be rejected, under any circumstance? If I have a killer idea, or I go out with my girls and we're dressed cute and I'm ready to meet people, of course I don't want to be rejected. But I guess the thing that advertising does is help you to forget about it two seconds later and move on.

My partner cheated on me, but he swears he doesn't remember it at all because he was so drunk. Is this forgivable?
Maybe if you hook him up with some AA classes and he goes to them. You shouldn't be having sex with people and not remembering it. That's not safe — that person could be bringing a disease into your relationship, and that's not cool. So it's not really about forgiveness — the issue is way past infidelity.

I'm seeing someone who I met on a dating site. We initially agreed that we didn't want anything serious, but we get along so well. I don't want to be the first one to want more from the relationship, but I also don't want to get hurt by not speaking up. What should I do?
I just came back from Spain on vacation, and I noticed that the way a lot of the guys approach women is very straight-up. There's no game involved. Whereas here, if you say something first, you come off as needy, and if someone else calls you too much they come off as dependent on you, and that's not attractive. And it's not easy to talk about how you're feeling with someone when you just started dating and you really like them but don't know them that well. But I think that actions speak louder than words. If someone wants to be with you, they'll move mountains. And if you notice that the person that you're dating is making a lot of effort, the same amount you are, and you're meeting each other halfway, then it should be totally fine for you to put yourself in a vulnerable place and talk about how you feel. But if there's any sort of imbalance, then maybe you need to take other cues from that person to decide whether you want to invest more.

How do I get my girlfriend to want to do freaky stuff in bed with me? It seems like the only thing she's comfortable with is missionary.
Talking is important. You should talk about the things you like before just trying them out. If she seems uncomfortable, then it will probably be scary for her if you just break out the handcuffs. Women, I think, get turned on beginning with our thoughts, and then it flows naturally from there.