Over the past few months, the coronavirus has impacted nearly every part of daily life, from closing down schools and places of work to requiring us to wear masks and practice social distancing when running basic errands. Since we’re still in the middle of the pandemic, not all the answers are clear yet, but what is becoming clear is that, health-wise, Covid-19 is adversely affecting more men than women: In Europe and China, it was estimated that men died from the infection at nearly double the rate as women did, and women in general aren’t getting sick as often. On this episode of Stuff Mom Never Told You, Anney and Samantha get into the various reasons this might be happening.
There are several reasons men may be seeing more negative effects, from biological to sociological. Scientists say that men have higher rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, and liver disease, which can lead to worse cases of Covid; in many countries, especially China, men smoke more than women, meaning they’re touching their faces more, and leaving their lungs vulnerable to attack from the virus. Men even produce more of a particular enzyme that helps coronavirus attack healthy cells. And women’s extra X chromosome means they have stronger immune systems, “probably because of pregnancy,” Anney muses.
Additionally, and especially in America, men are much less likely to wear a mask, practice social distancing, or even wash their hands as frequently as women. A recent survey of 2,500 men found that they believe wearing a mask makes them look “weak,” “shameful,” and “not cool.” Leaders like Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, and Jair Bolsonaro have mocked opponents for wearing masks and refuse to do so themselves in public, even though a new study demonstrated that if 80% of people wore a mask in public, infections would drop to one-twelfth the current rate. And in general, men tend to take symptoms of sickness less seriously, visiting doctors only when absolutely necessary.
Essentially, toxic masculinity is killing men, and Covid-19 is just another example of that. Listen to Anney and Samantha discuss this information, including how disturbing it is to discover how infrequently men wash their hands after using a restroom, on this episode of Stuff Mom Never Told You.
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