Male nurses are gay
Ditch Stereotypes About Male Nurses
Men become Nurses for the same reason women accomplish, to take care of people. And even though Male Nurses are becoming more common, they still face constant stereotyping on the job.
In order to provide optimum care and reduce health disparities, our healthcare professionals should be as diverse as the patient population they assist. This means Men must become equally represented in the Nursing field.
Increasing the number of Men in Nursing is seen as difficult because of social stigmas and stereotypes. Some common stereotypes that must be crushed are:
Women’s Work
Nursing is viewed as a female dominated profession, but that is changing. Advocate in the 1960’s Men made up about 2% of Nurses in the United States. In 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that number is closer to 13%.
People tend to associate caregiving and nurturing with women’s roles and simply because of their gender, Men are believed to be lacking these things and can’t be a good Nurse. This of course isn’t true.
This misconception can dissuade skilled and caring men from entering the field, preventing them from truly helping people.
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The experience of lgbtq+ male student nurses: confidential lives and professional boundaries
| Clarke, David 2015. The experience of gay male student nurses: private lives and professional boundaries. Presented at: American Mens Studies Association 24th International Conference on Masculinities, New York, NY, 4-8 March 2015. |
Abstract
This research explores how male gay student nurses negotiate their masculinity and male lover sexuality within the professional boundaries of nursing. Furthermore, it identifies how these students negotiate issues of caring and the formation of therapeutic relationships with their patients, as men and gay men. The aim of my explore was to investigate how gay nursing students negotiate their sexuality in the differing spaces of clinical practice and the university. In the UK (NMC 2012) and US (Census 2013) men account for 9-10% of the nursing workforce. Nursing has been a feminized profession since nursing registration/licencing began near
‘Gay’ stereotype deters men from nursing
The stereotype that male nurses are predominantly homosexuals continues to deter men from entering the profession, as a learning has claimed.
According to the research, based on a literature study and interviews with 18 men from New Zealand, urged nurse educators not to collude with the stereotype as it is marginalising men within the profession.
All participants stated that the majority of men in nursing are gay. One pupil nurse interviewed said he faced comments that ‘you must be gay if you want to be a nurse’.
Another male nurse, Allan, said he was forced to hide his sexuality because of negative perceptions.
Authors noted: ‘By choosing a workplace role that is considered unmanly, they become associated with effiminateness and homosexuality.
‘The continuing stigma associated with homosexuality may deter the entry of more men into nursing.’
Journal of Advanced Nursing (2007) 60: 636-644
NT Contributor
The experience of same-sex attracted male student nurses: intimate lives and professional boundaries
| Clarke, David 2015. The experience of gay male student nurses: private lives and professional boundaries. Presented at: Royal College of Nursing International Nursing Investigate Conference 2015, Nottingham, 20-22 April 2015. |
Abstract
Background:
This research explored how male gay student nurses negotiate their gender, masculinity and gay sexuality within the professional boundaries of nursing. Furthermore, it identified how these students negotiate issues of caring and the formation of therapeutic relationships with their patients, as men and gay men.
Aims:
The aim of my study was to investigate how gay nursing students negotiate their sexuality in the differing spaces of clinical practice and the university.
Methods:
In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with eight male lover male nursing students between 2009 and 2012. The theoretical
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