Article: The truth about the ‘gender care gap’: are men really more likely to abandon their ill wives? — The Guardian

[Chandelier]

The truth about the ‘gender care gap’: are men really more likely to abandon their ill wives?

It’s one thing facing a major diagnosis; it’s quite another dealing with your partner pulling away. But does the stereotype match the reality?

www.theguardian.com

I‘ve been told to not add AI summaries to larger opinion pieces.
If someone with more cognitive spoons and interest in the article would be so kind to add some citations from the article, that would be great!

 

[Trish]

Thanks, @Chandelier, the article tells several people's stories of being abandoned by partners when they developed diseases such as Long Covid and cancer. I haven't read all the details. There is some discussion of research such as this one:

The idea that men are more likely to run away from caring responsibilities can be traced back to a 2009 US study of 515 people with cancer or multiple sclerosis. It was led by two oncologists who had noticed how often their female patients’ relationships seemed to crumble. Sure enough, their suspicions were confirmed by the finding that 20.8% of the female survivors ended up divorced or separated, while only 2.9% of the men did, though couples who had been married longer seemed more resilient. The authors speculated that women commit earlier than men to relationships, meaning they were quicker to form an unbreakable bond.

 

[PageofME]

I read it through. Thanks for providing the link.

Unfortunately, it gives only the perspectives of people who were abandoned when they were ill but now are a lot better and dating again on the one side. And on the other hand, two people who are married to someone who had a big personality change due to stroke / accident tell how it is to be stuck in a relationship with someone they never chose.

In my view it's an abelist piece because no one who has a voice in it is actually so seriously chronically ill that they're out of work or even dependent on nursing.