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Notes -
Do you know men who get "man flu"? Are you a guy who gets "man flu"? If you don't know what man flu is, my understanding is that it's the idea that men are lazier than women when they're sick. I heard this and wrote it off, like most gender war stuff. Men don't help around the house enough, women earn less than men for doing the same work. But I keep seeing guys defending the idea that viruses make them sicker than women.
This is completely anathema to me. My father would go years without taking a sick day. He would get sick every few years during his busiest work event of the year, when he'd be pulling 12-hour-plus days. Growing up, I don't recall ever hearing about anything being put off in our social circle because a man was sick. My mom, on the other hand, was down all the time with one thing or another.
My father-in-law is the same. In 2021, he clearly had COVID. His wife was in the bedroom for days; he was out shoveling snow, cooking, and then making everyone play cards with him.
The only time I take "medicine" is when I'm at work events pretending I'm not sick. Afrin and a constant supply of cough suppressants..
Meh. Putting on my armchair evolutionary biologist hat, I'd guess that women get drastically sick, lie down for a few days, get taken care of now and then by other women around the house/cave/tent/dwelling, and after a few days of aggressive immune response are back up to normal. Men range out to hunt for potentially days, get sick far from home, and can't afford to have a huge fever while abroad, so get low-key sick instead and try to fight the disease with the least escalation possible, even if it takes longer. That would also suit what I see between my wife and I. I have constant colds that take just about as long to get rid of as it takes me to line up the next one. My wife catches the flu, is completely down and out for a few days, and is then back up and running.
Ultimately I think it's all confirmation bias.
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