Home / Column

Column

The award-winning Dare To Ask newspaper column by Phillip J. Milano features celebrities, experts, thought leaders and our users in provocative, informative and entertaining discussions about cross-cultural differences.

DARE TO ASK: More tests don’t mean more money for doctors
DARE TO ASK: A Middle Easterner is not always an Arab
DARE TO ASK: Do gay men typically not date ‘out of their league’?

DARE TO ASK: Are slippers and bare feet in public race-specific?
DARE TO ASK: Are the media too harsh on Catholicism?
DARE TO ASK: Muscling in on the rules of attraction
DARE TO ASK: If grandpa wants to talk golf, let him
DARE TO ASK: Young folks can feel old when suffering from arthritis

DARE TO ASK: Why are Walmart shoppers so different from Target shoppers?
DARE TO ASK: Why are white people so fussy about good grammar?
DARE TO ASK: Why do some Latinos decorate with stuffed animals?

DARE TO ASK: How can parent put stop to child’s misguided racial notion?
DARE TO ASK: Interracial dating isn’t for everyone
DARE TO ASK: Polite, old-fashioned men a rare breed?
DARE TO ASK: A gripping question involving, well, crotch-holding
DARE TO ASK: Resentment over call center accents?
DARE TO ASK: Why don’t Germans pray in public?
DARE TO ASK: What’s the red dot on foreheads?
DARE TO ASK: Is it fair to compare civil rights, gay rights, struggles?
DARE TO ASK: When is a woman at her sexiest in life?
DARE TO ASK: Any way to know if cart users ever fake disability?
DARE TO ASK: Can you describe someone as ‘that white girl,’ ‘that black guy’?
DARE TO ASK: Dumb and dumber? Try overloaded

DARE TO ASK: Do some women gravitate toward abusive jerks?
DARE TO ASK: Are Northern whites actually less accepting of blacks?
DARE TO ASK: Did dentist need to be so close to her chest to work on her teeth?
DARE TO ASK: Are Europeans less driven to drive?
DARE TO ASK: Help, my partner is overweight
DARE TO ASK: Gay men appeal to her. Is there a problem here?
DARE TO ASK: Do deaf people scream when they are frustrated?
DARE TO ASK: You dared to ask, now dare to answer 
DARE TO ASK: In Samoa, being big has always been a big deal
DARE TO ASK: Tramp stamp? The term is half insulting, at the least
DARE TO ASK: Shouldn’t all religions get days off?
DARE TO ASK: Why do men need to spit so much in public?
DARE TO ASK: Do African-Americans sunburn?
DARE TO ASK: What to do when someone you know is mentally ill and violent
DARE TO ASK: Are American tourists really ignorant?

DARE TO ASK: Do gays feel shunned by our society?
DARE TO ASK: Do most Muslims consider killing infidels acceptable?
DARE TO ASK: Mom seeks nudist camp for 14-year-old son
DARE TO ASK: Does man of modest means have chance with woman with dough?
DARE TO ASK: Do cops act tougher in poor areas?
DARE TO ASK: Two faiths – four issues over funeral
DARE TO ASK: Is your welcome mat colorblind?
DARE TO ASK: Fake meat? No problem. Tastes like human flesh? Um, well…
DARE TO ASK: German-Americans sometimes viewed as enemy during WWII
DARE TO ASK: Why call your parents to complain about your spouse?
DARE TO ASK: Why are straight men wary about having gay male friends?
DARE TO ASK: What’s the reading process like for a deafperson?
DARE TO ASK: Why do some people wear clothes with the tags still on them?
DARE TO ASK: For Amish teens, a time for being ‘un-Amish’?
DARE TO ASK: Are teens really having more sex?

DARE TO ASK: It’s 2010, and you have lots of questions
DARE TO ASK: Why are American-born Asian children taller?
DARE TO ASK: “Hey, How’s the weather up there?”
DARE TO ASK: Here’s perspective on the rainbow connections
DARE TO ASK: White guys a liability on basketball courts?
DARE TO ASK: He dated daughter, now wants mom
DARE TO ASK: Do Spaniards view Latinos as butchering the Spanish language?
DARE TO ASK: Question about bodily function is not for the queasy
DARE TO ASK: Can’t the hungry just buy a cheap burger?
DARE TO ASK: He doesn’t (heart) upstate N.Y.
DARE TO ASK: Is it OK to date someone mentally disabled?
DARE TO ASK: No wave or smile from a white driver?
DARE TO ASK: Can you be gay and Christian as well?
DARE TO ASK: Let’s decode a few high school subgroups
DARE TO ASK: Are dealing, haggling the Indian way?

DARE TO ASK: Ice in urinals? Well, fancy that
DARE TO ASK: How do hip-hop listeners define themselves?
DARE TO ASK: Can this marriage be saved?
DARE TO ASK: Why does Filipino start with an “F,” and Philippines with a”Ph”?
DARE TO ASK: Admit it, kids, you’re lonely, techno-loving blobs
DARE TO ASK: Are Californians just unfriendly, shallow, flaky yuppies?
DARE TO ASK: How do really obese people get that way?
DARE TO ASK: Why is it OK for comedians to joke about spankings?
DARE TO ASK: Do Native Americans have facial and body hair?
DARE TO ASK: How do blind people know when to cross a street?
DARE TO ASK: Is NPR for rich, white, liberals?
DARE TO ASK: The L-word and lovemaking
DARE TO ASK: A serious lack of female ‘juniors’
DARE TO ASK: Don’t judge Italians from a movie
DARE TO ASK: Are Southern men and their ball caps inseparable?

DARE TO ASK: Are love scenes a rarity for minorities?
DARE TO ASK: We have a few questions for you
DARE TO ASK: What’s wrong with using bra as a purse?
DARE TO ASK: Do pagans say it’s OK to be gay?
DARE TO ASK: Jews had reason to shun Fords
DARE TO ASK: Are smokers huffing and puffing over bans?
DARE TO ASK: How much time should dads spend with their daughters?
DARE TO ASK: Do you think Alaskans really live in igloos?
DARE TO ASK: The couple that stays together …
DARE TO ASK: How bare they: Why do porn?
DARE TO ASK: Do blacks wait longer to bury dead?
DARE TO ASK: Agreement can also be hard to find
DARE TO ASK: Are Asians the worst drivers?
DARE TO ASK: To shave or not to shave – your toes
DARE TO ASK: A burning religious question

DARE TO ASK: Take a few tips from servers
DARE TO ASK: Who suffers from depression?
DARE TO ASK: Mass transit open to all. And yet …
DARE TO ASK: Do Latinos see blacks as ‘the enemy’?
DARE TO ASK: Gaydar: How do you get it?
DARE TO ASK: Four years of daring pursuits
DARE TO ASK: Sir, may we have a word with you?
DARE TO ASK: A lack of transaction interaction?
DARE TO ASK: Women of all races get bigger
DARE TO ASK: Catholics and use of birth control
DARE TO ASK: Girl, you look good sexually
DARE TO ASK: Mind if I crouch and join you?
DARE TO ASK: Why are the wealthy so rude?
DARE TO ASK: Safe, sane coming out strategies
DARE TO ASK: Do Indian kids lack discipline?

DARE TO ASK: I’m a social worker; get off my case
DARE TO ASK: Black ladies love long fake nails?
DARE TO ASK: Marriage, relatively speaking
DARE TO ASK: Make me a match, find me a find …
DARE TO ASK: Let’s dial into issue of cell phones
DARE TO ASK: So, are we really born this way?
DARE TO ASK: Say ‘Hola’ along with ‘Hello’?
DARE TO ASK: OK to give your kids alcohol?
DARE TO ASK: A bicoastal bias against Midwest?
DARE TO ASK: Is education valued less by the poor?
DARE TO ASK: Strippers: Living the high life?
DARE TO ASK: Restaurants, recipes and religions
DARE TO ASK: Your body, post-baby: Any hope?
DARE TO ASK: An educated black man is ‘threatening’?
DARE TO ASK: Mental disabilities: In the teeth?

DARE TO ASK: Southern kings of the road
DARE TO ASK: Honoring American Indians
DARE TO ASK: Teens have a dating obsession
DARE TO ASK: Let’s say this fantasy is about you
DARE TO ASK: Shedding light on suntan fans
DARE TO ASK: Baby, why are your ears pierced?
DARE TO ASK: Gay men and lesbians: No love lost?
DARE TO ASK: Wash the dishes, then rinse, right?
DARE TO ASK: Debating (older) age and driving
DARE TO ASK: What’s all the shouting about?
DARE TO ASK: We sense tension over massage therapy
DARE TO ASK: Step away from the dust bunny
DARE TO ASK: They dared to aks, so we’ll answer
DARE TO ASK: The basics for being Jewish
DARE TO ASK: No straight answer about sexuality

DARE TO ASK: Mexicans, beer, Sunday – discuss
DARE TO ASK: Iced tea in the South? How sweet
DARE TO ASK: Nice guy? A gal has her doubts
DARE TO ASK: Only when you call us ‘Little bit’
DARE TO ASK: Emotions of Olympic proportions
DARE TO ASK: Fiery temper to match that fiery hair?
DARE TO ASK: Are whites forever in blue jeans?
DARE TO ASK: Question is a real ‘loo-loo’
DARE TO ASK: So, if you happen to see a star . . .
DARE TO ASK: Please translate transgender
DARE TO ASK: I’m buying a lot of food. So what?
DARE TO ASK: Southerners ‘nosy’ about your religion
DARE TO ASK: ‘Small’ woman wants to gain weight
DARE TO ASK: Which race is doing it? They all are

DARE TO ASK: Gypsies are victims of stereotype
DARE TO ASK: Is it OK for boy to sleep with Mom?
DARE TO ASK: This look says ‘proud to be Latina’
DARE TO ASK: Straight rules for gay bars
DARE TO ASK: Spring line of turbans not likely
DARE TO ASK: Nursing not a hot career choice today
DARE TO ASK: If you can’t see it, is it still sexy?
DARE TO ASK: Trust fund? We wouldn’t turn it down
DARE TO ASK: ‘Teaching’ the Bible in grade school
DARE TO ASK: U.S. blacks more tolerant of Hispanicimmigrants
DARE TO ASK: Then we’ll put our heads together …
DARE TO ASK: Rude? You don’t know from nothin’
IN REPLY: DARE TO ASK; dare to listen
DARE TO ASK: Why do you call someone a ‘retard’?
DARE TO ASK: Get outta my way on golf course, ladies

DARE TO ASK: Here’s looking at you, kid?
DARE TO ASK: Some say it’s ‘so gay,’ but it’s not OK
DARE TO ASK: Money for American Indians?
DARE TO ASK: The French dislike us? For real?
DARE TO ASK: This is very touching, folks, but …
DARE TO ASK: If those who could hear would listen
DARE TO ASK: She feels like a teenager in age only
DARE TO ASK: Born lucky? Some seem to think so
DARE TO ASK: Don’t think twice, Pete, it’s a’ight
DARE TO ASK: Can’t take my eyes off of … me?
DARE TO ASK: Maybe Susie doesn’t want a stupid doll
DARE TO ASK: Are hottest models imported?
DARE TO ASK: Who’s going to rage back at road rage?
DARE TO ASK: These wigs reflect code of modesty
DARE TO ASK: Japanese sure do love bathroom

DARE TO ASK: Anxiety over mild tremor? Stop fretting
DARE TO ASK: Let’s talk about men’s derrieres
DARE TO ASK: Chinese food a favorite with blacks?
DARE TO ASK: Those who ‘dare’ to do it themselves
DARE TO ASK: Is racial profiling OK at airports?
DARE TO ASK: Women see horses as ‘big dolls’
DARE TO ASK: What should she expect in India?
DARE TO ASK: Little girls dressed too suggestively?
DARE TO ASK: A forked tongue is more serious
BONUS DARE TO ASK: Where do lesbians go to see strippers?
DARE TO ASK: Hey kids, ours isn’t the only religion
DARE TO ASK: Say nay, nay, to this use of Sheneneh?
DARE TO ASK: Toughest aspect of being gay?
DARE TO ASK: Comb-overs: Why, balding guys, why?
DARE TO ASK: Why must they eat so loudly?

DARE TO ASK: Doctor will be with you in a minute
DARE TO ASK: Car size matters to seniors
DARE TO ASK: In Mexico, nickname often a reference to your physical features
DARE TO ASK: The deaf are strong part of work force
DARE TO ASK: Dandruff is dandruff, by any color
DARE TO ASK: A little bit of bathroom, um, humor
DARE TO ASK: Binky points to more than just a drinky
DARE TO ASK: Workplace talk doesn’t sound sweet
DARE TO ASK: Are the Japanese obsessed with being in the photo?
DARE TO ASK: You asked, so we need answers
DARE TO ASK: Potty training: A black and white issue?
DARE TO ASK: You were always on my mind
DARE TO ASK: Did we hear you say teens mumble?
DARE TO ASK: Muslims, Jews and a ‘fear’ of pork
DARE TO ASK: When a belly goes to pot: Gut reactions

DARE TO ASK: The truth about waste in space
DARE TO ASK: It’s a matter of race: What are Italians?
DARE TO ASK: You can touch her, if you’re gay
DARE TO ASK: Dressed to impress, even when poor
DARE TO ASK: Diving into swimmers’ breasts issue
DARE TO ASK: Kids dissing their parents? Like, yeah
DARE TO ASK: Atheists offer reasons for beliefs
DARE TO ASK: Does missing limb keep suitors away?
DARE TO ASK: Distinguishing traits of Asian subgroups?
DARE TO ASK: Is lifting kids by the arms a racial issue?
DARE TO ASK: Should we thank them for service?
DARE TO ASK: Insulting the French, and prostitutes
DARE TO ASK: Pump up the volume on that car
DARE TO ASK: Is fastidious 5-year-old possibly gay?
DARE TO ASK: Marriage is big deal for Hispanics

DARE TO ASK: No windows for Jehovah’s Witnesses?
DARE TO ASK: That ‘lady business’ will fluster a guy
DARE TO ASK: The mullet: Hair-do or hair-don’t?
DARE TO ASK: How useful is braille at an ATM?
DARE TO ASK: Catholics in need of education
DARE TO ASK: White ink will fade on dark skin
DARE TO ASK: Do American Indians have low tolerance foralcohol?
DARE TO ASK: If she asks, should a guy give up porn?
DARE TO ASK: Why is Patel big name in motel biz?
DARE TO ASK: ‘Attitudes’ of upper-class white women
DARE TO ASK: Got milk? Cows who give birth do
DARE TO ASK: Personal space, race: Touchy topic
DARE TO ASK: Do jaws drop over piercing of a tongue?
DARE TO ASK: What’s best way to handle breast issue?
DARE TO ASK: Ignorance often leads to hostility

DARE TO ASK: For lesbians, is it only all about sex?
DARE TO ASK: Can whites be ‘smelly’ like a deli?
DARE TO ASK: Food allergy is nothing to sneeze about
DARE TO ASK: Are women in the South subservient?
DARE TO ASK: Left out of conversation at nail salon
DARE TO ASK: We’re old, so you must do what we say
DARE TO ASK: The practice of female circumcision
DARE TO ASK: Judging men who dress as women
DARE TO ASK: Does money shelter you from reality?
DARE TO ASK: Black women less fretful over weight?
DARE TO ASK: Please allow a stutterer to finish
DARE TO ASK: To him, super size describes the workers
DARE TO ASK: Low-riders: It’s all about being cool
DARE TO ASK: Pregnancy a turn-on to some men?
DARE TO ASK: Goth boy’s parents in the dark?

DARE TO ASK: White people seem to miss the beat
DARE TO ASK: Catholics on sex and birth control
DARE TO ASK: Dreaming: What it’s like for the blind
DARE TO ASK: Discussing distinctively black names
DARE TO ASK: Flamboyant behavior OK with gays?
DARETO ASK: No cats — on or off the menu
DARE TO ASK: Birds do it, bees do it, teens do, too
DARE TO ASK: The Jewish view on life after death
DARE TO ASK: Does race help athlete to excel?
DARE TO ASK: We just eat differently in South, y’all
DARE TO ASK: Read this, or you won’t know squat
DARE TO ASK: Mere fidgets behind his fantasies
DARE TO ASK: Do older men tend to bathe less?
DARE TO ASK: To ignore or to ‘see’ homeless
DARE TO ASK: You have a problem with that?

DARE TO ASK: Time to open DARE TO ASK mailbox
DARE TO ASK: Let’s try not to pick on picky people
DARE TO ASK: Are Down kids aware of differences?
DARE TO ASK: Kid, you’re listening to ‘my’ music
DARE TO ASK: Who’s who: Gay couples label roles?
DARE TO ASK: He’s white, she’s black: A problem?
DARE TO ASK: Underwear, or lack of, is the issue
DARE TO ASK: Passing out from grief at funeral
DARE TO ASK: Overweight? It can make you invisible
DARE TO ASK: Cover story: Men wear makeup
DARE TO ASK: South Asians and matters of skin color
DARE TO ASK: Actors really do study for love scenes
DARE TO ASK: Good rules for helping the disabled
DARE TO ASK: Attraction, when he’s now a she
DARE TO ASK: Washing up, without a washcloth

DARE TO ASK: Does society kowtow to the rich?
DARE TO ASK: She’s older? Ask her out, you stud
DARE TO ASK: Does race really affect noise level?
DARE TO ASK: So stop your kvetching about her
DARE TO ASK: No linking deafness, being gay
DARE TO ASK: Reading in bathroom: A guy thing?
DARE TO ASK: Seclusion of Islamic women
DARE TO ASK: Men from the South: Dangerous?
DARE TO ASK: Some ‘trot’ at crossings; some do not
DARE TO ASK: Are remarks harassment or flattery?
DARE TO ASK: A debate: The Bible and gays
DARE TO ASK: Let’s not split hairs over matter
DARE TO ASK: What is it about Asian women?
DARE TO ASK: Let your curiosity do the talking