Or do we regard them as more stoical because, at least in many settings, we tend to take their pain more seriously? The latter hypothesis is also bolstered by evidence that, when women are in pain, they are more likely than men to continue to perform household labor and family duties. Indeed, “an overload of responsibility for family, work, household, their pain, and their wellbeing seemed to be an obstacle for recovery for women with pain,” researchers observed recently.
