How are the genders different in dealing with a mate with chronic health problems?

Question

I have my own opinions, and see clear gender differences, certainly depending on what the chronic condition is and how well it's managed. But, I'd like to see what you folks think before chiming in. I've been away from G&WS for a while, trying match and eharmony, which has led me to ask this question.

Answer 1

A man with an ill wife will support her for decades.

A woman with an ill husband, will divorce him within months.

Answer 2

I haven't noticed a difference-I've been around couples where the male or female partner was ill (and in many cases dying) and both genders did everything they could for their partner. It's very frustrating, depressing, and exhausting to helplessly stand by when someone is in pain, but even more so when you love and cherish the person. Of course, some people handle medical crisis better than others, and some don't do well at all. But most people try to do whatever they possibly can for their partner.    

Answer 3

I guess women might be more inclined to take on a tender, nurturing role for a mate with chronic health problems. They may take on emotional responsibility for their spouse. Men might focus more on 'picking up the slack' for them, making sure their partner is provided for, and protecting them from extra stressors, perhaps in a financial sense.  This too is a kind of nurturing, just different from the type of nurturing one might expect a woman to give.

However, this is based on stereotypical ideas of how a gender as a whole might be more likely to act. It is unlikely you will ever find a person in this situation who acts exactly like the conventions of their gender dictate they should. They just might be more likely to be closer to their 'gender' on a continuum of ways of dealing. Or they might have a fairly gender neutral way of going about things. Or they may even act completely opposite to what you would expect of a man/women.

It is far more accurate to approach it on a case-by-case basis.