Monday, July 2, 2007

Summary and Response of "Why Men Don't Last"

In the article "Why Men Don’t Last," Natalie Angier discusses the topic of why men don’t live as long as women; even though they almost always appear to be healthier. The first reason Angier gives as to why men die sooner than a woman is: they are stubborn about going to the doctors for regular check-ups. Men say they don’t need doctors and refuse; this leads to health problems that could heave been prevented. Next it's because men are more likely to either drive more recklessly than women or drunk after a night out. Men are also more likely than women to be alcoholics and drug addicts. Angier also states that men are more likely to carry out a suicide attempt. Women tend to think more about it; men tend to think about it and actually do it because they don’t want to admit that they failed at something. The final reason Angier gives is: men die sooner than women because they are bigger risk-takers. Men tend to do more things that can potentially be harmful. Another topic Angier discusses is how men perceive how they are supposed to act: tough, macho, independent, and that they shouldn’t cry or be a mama's boy and that they can survive on their own. But what men don’t know is that they really do need someone.
Before reading this article I thought that the main reason men die sooner than women is because they were stubborn and didn’t go to doctors. Therefore, they let curable illnesses go unchecked and later died because of them. After reading this article I learned some more reasons, such as: suicide, alcoholism, drug addictions, and risk-taking. I didn’t like the reason of suicide that Angier discussed. I think men need to learn how to fail and do it once in a while. Men need to be more like women in the suicide aspect; they need to think about it more instead of actually doing it. Men, especially the ones who are husbands and fathers, need to think about their actions better because it's not just their life they're affecting; it a woman's life and a child's life too.

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