{"id":568370,"date":"2026-04-06T19:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/568370\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T19:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:06:10","slug":"when-men-ask-me-this-one-question-on-a-first-date-they-never-hear-from-me-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/568370\/","title":{"rendered":"When men ask me this one question on a first date, they never hear from me again."},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"31\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni006eo0012y6kssu7pz95p@published\">Each month, How to Do It columnists Jessica Stoya and Rich Juzwiak\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSdx34-uOijrCIKqMdw5hnyYahSJBKa4AaSzDCu1nfcpmd3IjA\/viewform\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ask readers for their thoughts<\/a>\u00a0on the letters they\u2019ve received. In this edition, Jessica replies to readers\u2019 comments and suggestions below.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"5\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni08dp9003j3b7bl388lbka@published\">Hey How to Do It,<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"111\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni085n9003c3b7bjzl1rtp4@published\">Re <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/advice\/2026\/02\/sex-advice-sexual-past-disclosure.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Wants to Be Slut-Praised<\/a>: I came across this column and wanted to share my experience. I just don\u2019t continue to date guys who ask right off the bat or are fixated. It\u2019s that simple. I\u2019ve slept with hundreds of people, not just men, and I don\u2019t go into it with my partners. It\u2019s none of their business and irrelevant. I don\u2019t ask them and wait a very long time if I tell them at all. I only told my ex-husband of six years once, and we were both drunk, and he doesn\u2019t remember the number. We laughed about it later, I still didn\u2019t tell him again, and we\u2019re still friends.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"168\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni02f9j00193b7bgqisj0qf@published\">If they ask within the first few dates, they\u2019re judging, and I\u2019m not interested in that kind of judgment. Being intolerant of those types of questions and tests has really helped me to only have amazing relationships with people who don\u2019t care about anything other than how I treat them. I\u2019m also typically monogamous and ethical about any type of relationship I\u2019m in, so I understand what the letter writer means. It probably helps that I\u2019m an adult entertainer, so I have developed hard boundaries on conversations and ending dates. It\u2019s a lot of weeding people out, but worth just saying bye as soon as they ask those types of things. I\u2019m 36 and haven\u2019t been able to salvage a connection after they ask intrusive, invasive questions to judge me or my sexuality. Never. It sucks when they\u2019re cute and seem nice, but I\u2019ve always had a cuter, nicer one come along immediately after. You just have to learn to be strict on calling it and moving on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"2\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni02fcn001a3b7bxq1zl2f9@published\">\u2014Frequent Reader<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"51\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni02fi5001b3b7btdhwhwoh@published\">Bravo. And thank you for your individual take on the efficiency strategy that Rich and I often recommend in the early stages of dating\u2014I think the more perspectives available on the value of that, the more easily folks internalize the fact that there are mindsets other than scarcity in these matters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"prudie-google-form__disclaimer\">\n      Please keep questions short (&lt;150 words), and don\u2018t submit the same question to multiple columns. We are unable to edit or remove questions after publication. Use pseudonyms to maintain anonymity. Your submission may be used in other Slate advice columns and may be edited for publication.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-notification--success js-success-message\" hidden=\"\">Thanks! Your question has been submitted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"5\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni02ka6001g3b7bwzj8eemb@published\">Hey How to Do It,<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"82\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni02rj0001m3b7br1k1wg45@published\">Re <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/advice\/2025\/12\/sex-advice-oral-strange-reaction-marriage.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Going Down and Getting the Sickness<\/a>: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. I saw someone else <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/advice\/2026\/02\/sex-advice-wife-birth-control-game.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">followed up as well<\/a>. I typically don\u2019t have any symptoms other than when I give her oral, however, I must admit, I am at my most aroused when going down on my wife, so it does make sense if it is the \u201choneymoon rhinitis.\u201d I wonder if just popping a Benadryl alongside my Tadalafil would help things out there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"65\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni02rj0001n3b7bhzfqc8u6@published\">Also, thanks to the confidence and education that reading your column has provided me, I am happy to report that I\u2019m probably up to six or seven times a month now, as well as getting to go down maybe twice a month now. We only get one life to live, and I feel like I\u2019m living it a little fuller now thanks to your help.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"6\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni02rj0001o3b7bwxdagv6i@published\">\u2014Going Down and Getting the Sickness<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"47\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni02rj0001p3b7b3bnm9359@published\">Thank you for following up, and for your appreciation of the column. Please consider checking in with the person who prescribes your Tadalafil about possible interactions, and, unless you\u2019re already pretty happy with Benadryl, there may be newer generation antihistamines that have fewer side effects in general.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"5\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni032wf001u3b7br9ub9vry@published\">Hey How to Do It,\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"25\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni033ie00203b7bxg9cc32s@published\">It is criminal that <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/advice\/2026\/03\/sex-advice-new-oral-technique.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pandora\u2019s Orals<\/a> didn\u2019t include a description of the technique. Please demand they write again with the particulars and publish their response!<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"6\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni033if00213b7bq2jqhii6@published\">\u2014A Fellow Sufferer of Climaxless BJs<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"169\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni033if00223b7bzaumwqq9@published\">Unfortunately, we are not able to enforce such demands in the format of this column. With coaching clients, I do sometimes ask whether they\u2019re open to giving me more details about aspects that genuinely feel relevant to our work together. As I touched on in the letter, practical details could have helped me find a way for the writer to introduce that technique without giving the entire backstory to his partner. But with friends\u2014oh, rapturously, with friends\u2014I do often make similar requirements. After all, they\u2019re asking me to perform the same tasks and use the same skillset that I do across almost all of my professional endeavors at this point. They can give me the full picture, including some fascinating gory details (or a follow-up report, which is more useful than entertaining) in exchange. In summary, sometimes giving more information helps me help the person asking, and other times it\u2019s a nice nod to one of the ways this column functions for casual readers: the juicy bits add interest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"5\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni033ig00233b7bab8iinjv@published\">Hey How to Do It,<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"64\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni033ig00243b7b2mlpy28u@published\">I saw an older letter from someone whose wife was sick with cancer, she had a double mastectomy, and he wanted to find an outlet. My wife of 33 years was diagnosed with fast-spreading breast cancer, and she had a double mastectomy. She had ongoing chemo treatments plus radiation. It wrecked our sex life. She was too sick to feel in a sexy mood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"145\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni033ig00253b7b99o9jedh@published\">So, I just used porn and masturbated. I knew that I could not break her heart in the last few years of her life by asking if we could open the marriage up. I knew that for her, the right thing was standing by her in her struggle, and I had to not think of only myself. She passed three years after diagnosis. I have found a new partner, and we are having lots of fun sex now. When someone is fighting for their life, I feel the partner should stop thinking of themselves and see what the sick person needs and wants. Also, my new partner is an oncology nurse, and she said that 50 percent of marriages end when the wife is diagnosed with cancer. However, when men get cancer, over 80 percent stay married until the end. Men can be selfish idiots.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"4\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni033ih00263b7bim6kmeo9@published\">\u2014Get Your Priorities Straight<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"84\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni033ih00273b7bzockk6jz@published\">I\u2019ve heard about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2009\/11\/091110105401.htm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">similar statistics<\/a> to the ones your current partner is referencing, and it\u2019s heartbreaking. People can be selfish idiots, and gosh, do men seem to take the cake when we\u2019re looking at this kind of stark data. I applaud you for putting your sexual desires aside and focusing on being there for your wife. I\u2019m assuming, based on what you\u2019ve written, that you accomplished that while treating her with the care, respect, and human decency that you offered her throughout your marriage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"79\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni033ii00283b7bge03rq4h@published\">Since there\u2019s a developing theme today of desire for follow-up information, I\u2019ll go ahead and ask: Can I reach out next time there\u2019s a letter from someone whose spouse is dying, and is wrestling with how to behave like a person? It\u2019s a very indelicate subject to cold contact a person about, and here you are generously offering us a window into your experience. I know I\u2019d appreciate it, and I suspect there are readers who would as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"5\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni03bo2002d3b7b3r0ep3hm@published\">Hey How to Do It,\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"99\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni03ccn002j3b7bjals1clo@published\">Re <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/advice\/2026\/03\/dating-advice-new-boyfriend-annual-tradition-ex.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Only Jealous of His Vacation Days<\/a>: You both didn\u2019t notice that the writer is this upset when she\u2019s only been seeing Jack for six months! This is less \u201cwe\u2019ve missed all these possible vacations because he\u2019s with his ex\u201d and more \u201cmaybe I\u2019ll miss a vacation at some point with him because of it.\u201d In six months, how many epic vacations did she think she\u2019d have been on?\u00a0 Seems she is really looking for reasons to make this into a big deal when it likely hasn\u2019t had any, or very little effect, so far on their time together.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"7\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni03cco002k3b7bojt04hrp@published\">\u2014Why Do People Get Pre-Upset So Often?<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"107\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni03cco002l3b7bqm7ion1j@published\">With the utmost empathy for the fact that you\u2019re probably using these columns and comments section posts as a form of entertainment, and therefore not reading with the full effort toward comprehension that one would expect in a professional environment, not only did we notice, but we did mention it. After the editing process, in which decisions are made by an editor about what to cut (and <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/advice\/2026\/03\/money-advice-missing-financial-trick.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ilyce Glink was assigned this question for Pay Dirt<\/a> and addressed that particular angle quite thoroughly), what went to print was Rich\u2019s mention of the shortness of the relationship to date at the very top and bottom of the article.<\/p>\n<p>          <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/advice\/2026\/04\/family-advice-brother-cheating-secret-wife.html\" class=\"in-article-recirc__link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>            My Porch Camera Caught My Brother With His Mistress. But He\u2019s Hiding a Darker Secret.<br \/>\n          <\/a><\/p>\n<p>          <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/advice\/2026\/04\/bi-woman-sex-advice-dating-men-women-politics.html\" class=\"in-article-recirc__link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>            I\u2019m Fat, Unattractive, and My Standards Are Way Too High. I Think I\u2019ve Found the Solution, but It Scares the Hell Out of Me.<br \/>\n          <\/a><\/p>\n<p>          <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/advice\/2026\/04\/parent-advice-chaos-blame-kids.html\" class=\"in-article-recirc__link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>            I Once Thought Parents Were to Blame for What My Family Is Going Through. Now I Realize How Wrong I Was.<br \/>\n          <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"165\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmni03ccp002m3b7b3jmyvp49@published\">I\u2019m choosing to address your comment, not for the minor joy of turning your own sign-off back on you, but as an illustration of how incredibly difficult it is to practice the part of effective communication that relies on paying attention to everything the other person (or people, in this case) is saying. I have been doing this work for over a decade, and things do legitimately slip past me sometimes. The same can happen in conversations. And since our column has always encouraged people to talk, to communicate, to address things verbally, it seems useful to instrumentalize your note as an example of how easily we can stray into a presumption when we aren\u2019t paying attention carefully. There\u2019s a balance, obviously, especially in a medium where real-time clarifying questions cannot be asked. But the more you practice listening, reading every word, and checking your assumptions before they crystallize, the more that habit will be present in your communications that matter\u2014with loved ones and partners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"1\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmnncrafn000r3b7c2u3vwxie@published\">\u2014Jessica<\/p>\n<p>More Advice From Slate<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"58\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmnncqsaq000k3b7c11okqixz@published\">My husband and I have been married for 25 years and were together for five years before getting married. We have four adult kids\u2014our youngest just moved out for college last year. From the time things got serious in our relationship, <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/human-interest\/2023\/07\/husband-buddy-relationship-kids-sex-advice.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">he was very open about the fact that he occasionally hooks up with his (male) friend \u201cCharlie.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>      Get the latest from Prudie and our columnists in your inbox each weekday, plus special bonus letters on Saturdays.\n    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Each month, How to Do It columnists Jessica Stoya and Rich Juzwiak\u00a0ask readers for their thoughts\u00a0on the letters&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":568371,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[3005,97,14110],"class_list":{"0":"post-568370","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-advice","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-sex"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/568371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}