Let’s begin with a confession I’m only now brave enough to make: I’ve just spent the past week waging a brutal, deeply personal war with a common cold. Not COVID. Not the flu. Not even RSV. Just a garden-variety, run-of-the-mill cold. The kind you’re not supposed to complain about. The kind you're expected to “power through.”

Well, I did not power through. I powered down. And if I’m being honest, I became the personification of every “man cold” joke you’ve ever heard.

There I was, wrapped in a blanket that definitely hadn’t been washed in a while, cradling a mug of something herbal and utterly ineffective, while dramatically announcing things like, “This might be it for me,” and “Tell the others I fought bravely.” My partner was unimpressed. She offered me sympathy in the same tone one uses to comfort a toddler who’s convinced they’ll never walk again because they bumped their shin.

Which raises the eternal question: Why do men seem to handle colds like we’ve been shot in a war movie, while women just…get on with it?

The Man Cold: A Punchline with a Pulse
The term “man cold” is practically a seasonal meme. It's that phenomenon where a man gets a sniffle and transforms into a Victorian heroine wasting away on a chaise lounge. And while I wish I could claim I’m above that stereotype, my recent performance suggests otherwise.

But before you judge too harshly, let’s ask: Is the “man cold” just male melodrama? Or is there some scientific explanation behind the moaning and the mopey bathrobe aesthetic?

Biology, Hormones, and a Box of Tissues
First, the facts: some research suggests that men may actually experience more severe symptoms from the common cold than women. The likely culprits? Hormones and immune system differences.

Women tend to have stronger immune responses than men, thanks in part to estrogen, which boosts immune activity, and to the presence of two X chromosomes, which carry a number of immune-related genes. Men, meanwhile, get the immunological short straw, with testosterone sometimes suppressing immune function.

So while it may look like men are being dramatic, we might actually feel worse—biologically speaking. One study even found that male mice infected with a cold virus had weaker immune responses and took longer to recover. Yes, scientists gave mice colds to validate the man cold. You’re welcome.

The Cultural Cough
Biology aside, a lot of the “man cold” narrative is cultural. From a young age, boys are often told to “tough it out” and avoid expressing weakness. But when we get sick, those emotional floodgates open in ways usually reserved for Oscar-winning drama. It’s one of the few times men are socially allowed to be vulnerable without judgment—so we take it and run (or rather, shuffle slowly in a bathrobe).

Meanwhile, women, socialized as caregivers, often push through illness without making a fuss. If they have a cold, they still pack lunches, make meetings, and wrangle small humans. It’s not that they don’t feel just as awful—it’s that the world rarely pauses for their sniffles.

The Immune System Gap
Women’s immune systems aren’t just more reactive—they’re smarter. Stronger immunity can mean a quicker recovery from common viral infections like colds, which might explain why they seem to bounce back faster. But there’s a trade-off: women are also more prone to autoimmune conditions, where the body attacks itself.

So yes, women’s immune systems may be better at handling colds—but it’s not just about toughness. It’s about biology doing what biology does: being unfair in weirdly specific ways.

So, What’s the Real Takeaway?
Should we men embrace the “man cold” label with pride? Not exactly. Just because something might be real doesn’t mean it’s noble. The truth is, while we may have some scientific excuses for feeling worse, that doesn’t mean we get to act like we’ve contracted the plague.

But maybe we can use the common cold as a window into something deeper: the need for men to be more comfortable with vulnerability outside of illness. If we can moan about a sore throat, surely we can talk about mental health, stress, and emotions without needing a virus as an excuse.

And maybe—just maybe—women could be allowed the same level of care and sympathy that men seem to summon from the universe the moment we sneeze twice.

As for me, I’m back among the upright. The sniffles are gone, my voice no longer sounds like gravel and regret, and I’m once again capable of getting through the day without sighing dramatically into the middle distance.

So let this be a lesson, or at least a reminder: the common cold may not be lethal, but it has the power to reveal our inner drama queens. And that’s OK—just don’t forget to say thank you to whoever brought you the tea, the tissues, and the patience to put up with your one-man show.


Sue, Kyle. “The Science Behind ‘Man Flu.’” The BMJ, Dec. 11, 2017.
A tongue‑in‑cheek yet peer‑reviewed review of research suggesting that men may have weaker immune responses to respiratory viruses than women — offering possible biological support for the “man cold” stereotype.

Klein, Sabra L., and Flanagan, Katie L. “Sex Differences in Immune Responses.” Nature Reviews Immunology, Vol. 16, No. 10 (Oct. 2016): 626–638.
A scientific overview showing that women typically mount stronger immune responses to infections, likely due to hormonal and chromosomal differences.

Time Magazine Staff. “Is ‘Man Flu’ Really a Thing? Here’s What We Know.” Time Magazine, Dec. 12, 2017.
A summary of medical research for a general audience, noting that men may indeed experience more severe cold and flu symptoms because of biological and hormonal factors.

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