# why are men such big whiny babies when they are sick? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 7, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175 "2015-01-07T00:34:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/41 "2015-01-07T13:03:25Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > It’s the opposite in our house. When my wife has a cold, she turns into a character from “La Boheme”. When I have a cold I can generally still put one foot in front of the other. Same here. The OP’s issue is confirmation bias and a sample size of 1. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/42 "2015-01-07T13:47:08Z")
I’ve been at a couple of child births. And let me tell there’s no end to the whine and moan one has to endure. For hours on end. A general advice to other men: in my experience telling her to just shut the fuck up and get on with it, works ok. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/43 "2015-01-07T14:00:09Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > And why do women always spend all their household allowance on hats? There’s still no like button on this board, so I’m just going to quote you and nod in agreement if that’s ok. The idea that all women suffer illness in stoic silence, whilst all men revert to small children who need nursing for the slightest cold, really does get boring. We’re meant to have moved beyond applying patronizing stereotypes to half the species on the grounds of gender. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/44 "2015-01-07T14:10:03Z")
My SO certainly turns into a big baby when he has a cold. I am sure, though, that if he had to have his leg removed or something he’d soldier on and never complain a whit. It’s the same thing with anything. If he stubs his toe lightly he might yell and make a big fuss but if he really hurts himself he’s silent. I know that if I see him bump something and he goes silent to come running over and check on him. Like others have said, sample size of 1. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/45 "2015-01-07T14:13:30Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > What’s up with the misandry? Or are we not supposed to notice it? :dubious: It’s the Pit. Man up and grow a pair. There, is that better ya big baby. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/46 "2015-01-07T14:15:40Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > It’s the Pit. Man up and grow a pair. There, is that better ya big baby. See, this bothers me more than the other. Vaginas are way tougher than balls, so why do we say man up and grow a pair? Balls are ridiculously weak and exposed to boot! ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/47 "2015-01-07T14:18:49Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > See, this bothers me more than the other. Vaginas are way tougher than balls, so why do we say man up and grow a pair? Balls are ridiculously weak and exposed to boot! I was trying to balance out the misandry and make the testicles happy because I hurt their feelings.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/48 "2015-01-07T14:26:07Z")
And it isn’t just a sterotype. It’s a researched fact that 2/3 of men turn colds into the flu and headaches into migraines. I seriously cannot make this shiz up. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule, but in general men tend to overemphasize minor illness and soldier through major illness. This is of course culturally relative to a large extent. Read [https://www.engagemutual.com/media-centre/media-centre/no-sympathy/](https://www.engagemutual.com/media-centre/media-centre/no-sympathy/) for the study I am referring to. Also, this is the PIT and if another whiny man-child confuses this with Great Debates and exclaims " the mean lady isn’t being fair, I wants the proofs. I’m not a baby" someone is getting a spanking. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/49 "2015-01-07T14:35:56Z")
According to that study (which looks pretty idiotic), women are more likely to complain of minor ailments on a daily basis. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/50 "2015-01-07T14:50:09Z")
People have to speak as they find, of course, but in my experience it’s women who are more prey to a host of imaginary ailments and also the target audience for every health fad and quack nostrum that’s going, which a lady of my acquaintance does a roaring trade on in everything from energy balancing to ear candling, and good luck to her. My wife hit the nail squarely on the head when she spoke of a mutual acquaintance as being “a woman who enjoys poor health”, with the word “enjoys” literally meant. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/51 "2015-01-07T14:52:03Z")
I’m a huge, HUGE baby. I feel so bad for my wife. But: I’m the horrible type who will refuse to go to the doctor. I remember once when I was in high school I got horribly sick and would fight to not have to go to the doctor. After about four days my mom finally forced me to go. The doctor did he thing and then went, “Yeah, if you would have waited another day we probably would have had to hospitalized you. Luckily you came in just in time.” I think it might be because I usually don’t get sick. Besides one medical issue (random hive outbreaks) I’m completely healthy in every respect. So any illness throws me off. Also, it’s because I’m allowed to be a baby now. When I was deployed to Iraq I got sick as a dog, but I still flew the mission. Snot was running down my face, tired, etc, but still did our mission (the worst night of my life, up until that point). The next day I actually went to our flight doc., she grounded me for the night. That meant I could sleep in, but that also meant someone had to take my place that night. What if they got the “big mission” and I missed it? Or what if something bad happened and the replacement was killed when it should have been me? So the next day I went to the doc and told her I’m ready to be put back on the line. She had me valsalva. I did and immediately dropped down and grabbed the chair because the entire room went spinning. She didn’t let me fly. Then a couple of months later we were flying over Baghdad when I broke my hand while fixing my machine gun. My entire left hand was useless, but we were still over Baghdad, so I had to fix the entire thing with one hand. Then I had to continue on the mission. And because there wasn’t anyone to replace me I had to hold the alert for an additional two days before I was able to get xrays and, yup, simple non-displaced fracture. So yeah, I’m a civilian now. Eff that noise. I’m laying in bed. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/52 "2015-01-07T15:00:10Z")
This thread makes me sick! Can I have some soup? ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/53 "2015-01-07T15:02:33Z")
This is pretty much how it is at our house no matter who’s sick: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk5wScFGCjk) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/54 "2015-01-07T15:10:22Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > My WAG? Because we’re _allowed_ to whine and be babied when we’re sick. There aren’t many times in a man’s life where showing weakness and helplessness is 100% acceptable. This. I suspect that single men and single women are just as infantile when it comes to colds, but men with SOs probably let themselves be babied a little more than is reasonable because it’s just about the only time this kind of thing happens. The other 99% of the time, you’re expected to be strong, protective and all that. I suspect a lot of it has to do with childhood treatment by their mothers. If they were told to walk it off 99% of the time, EXCEPT when they were sick, at which point they were babied and all that, then they’re going to continue to act like that. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/55 "2015-01-07T15:13:42Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > And it isn’t just a sterotype. It’s a researched fact that 2/3 of men turn colds into the flu and headaches into migraines. I seriously cannot make this shiz up. [QUOTE=researched fact] The Engage Mutual survey of 3,000 people shows nearly half of all men exaggerate their symptoms of illness – a common cold becomes flu and a headache turns into a full blown migraine. According to their partners, more than 57 per cent of men become attention seeking when ill, with 65 per cent constantly moaning and groaning. [/quote] That’s some hard hitting science, asking women if their men are big whiny babies when they’re sick. Gee whiz, the ladies say men are big whiny babies, it’s a “fact”. Interestingly, women have 40% more “real illnesses” than men. 40%! I guess we’re all lucky that women aren’t whiny babies when they’re sick, since they’re sick so much more often than men. Women just soldier on with their duties, while 76% of men decide to be “martyrs” and work instead of recovering at home. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/56 "2015-01-07T15:20:39Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > And it isn’t just a sterotype. It’s a researched fact that 2/3 of men turn colds into the flu and headaches into migraines. I seriously cannot make this shiz up. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule, but in general men tend to overemphasize minor illness and soldier through major illness. This is of course culturally relative to a large extent. Read [https://www.engagemutual.com/media-centre/media-centre/no-sympathy/](https://www.engagemutual.com/media-centre/media-centre/no-sympathy/) for the study I am referring to. > Also, this is the PIT and if another whiny man-child confuses this with Great Debates and exclaims " the mean lady isn’t being fair, I wants the proofs. I’m not a baby" someone is getting a spanking. Cite that people in this thread have claimed that you’re not being fair. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/57 "2015-01-07T15:31:37Z")
OP being a sexist asshole? On the Straight Dope? Of course. :rolleyes: I’m drugged to the gills due to my chronic pain issues and I’m at work. But I guess I was being a baby when I went home yesterday because of it. Please, quickly compare my pain to child birth! ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/58 "2015-01-07T15:33:07Z")
Why do women marry “men” who can’t handle a cold, and then turn around and bitch about how they’re married to a giant baby like it’s someone else’s fault? Friggin own it: you’re married to a pussy, you lose. When the zombies come, you’re gonna be shot in the kneecaps while he runs off. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/59 "2015-01-07T15:50:50Z")
> [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](#): > > People have to speak as they find, of course, but in my experience it’s women who are more prey to a host of imaginary ailments and also the target audience for every health fad and quack nostrum that’s going, which a lady of my acquaintance does a roaring trade on in everything from energy balancing to ear candling, and good luck to her. > > My wife hit the nail squarely on the head when she spoke of a mutual acquaintance as being “a woman who enjoys poor health”, with the word “enjoys” literally meant. This is the truth. I’ve never heard men complain about bloating, or retaining water, or their aching soles from being on their feet all day, or how eating dairy products causes them digestive problems, or the gluten sensitivity they suffer from, or how so-and-so’s terrible perfume causes them to break out in hives or whatever. On any given day, if I ask a man how’s he’s doing, he’ll say “fine.” Ask a woman, and it’s a fifteen minute diagnosis of her sinus problems and how she simply wouldn’t be able to function without her netti pot. I find the occasional whining because of man flu far less irritating than the nonstop litany of minor complaints of the martyrs. And, really, the proper response to any man flu whining is: “Stop being such a girl; get up and get it yourself.” ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175/60 "2015-01-07T15:53:29Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > That’s some hard hitting science, asking women if their men are big whiny babies when they’re sick. Gee whiz, the ladies say men are big whiny babies, it’s a “fact”. So what the survey actually shows is that more than half of women will bitch about their men behind their backs. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-such-big-whiny-babies-when-they-are-sick/709175.md?page=4)