Creina Twomey Gender Roles

Nursing was a challenge to the individual and I had to experience an identity I had never previously thought about which was being a male within a predominantly female career field. As Yang et al. (2004) showed males in their study work towards promotion and strive on a long term goal of personal growth. In previous fields I had always fought for advancement and now I still do and have been equally been treated among my peers and have seen that advancement truly can only come from pursuing an advanced degree.

The Motion picture film, “Sentimental Women Need Not Apply”, highlighted that the first group of nursing students were all white women (1988). Black women were unwelcomed in some nursing schools hence nursing schools were establish for colored people only (Gary & Hott, 1988). One nurse shared that the lack of black doctors rendered black nurses as the sole healthcare providers in some communities. After years of speaking out against segregation, any capable human, regardless of race or gender can now become a nurse. In the 21st century both men and women of all cultures are welcome to becoming a nurse. Though nursing remains a female dominated profession, the gap between male and female nurses has narrowed. In 1970, three percent of nurses were males compared to ten percent in 2013 (Tanner,

Throughout history, gender roles have been the foundation that determines the course of a civilization. These gender roles have undergone a change over time. It is important for every society to re-evaluate its preconceived ideas of gender and determine if that is still the norm for their society. When people think of gender roles we typically have set stereotypes in our head of what that means. Much of the time, what we believe, is not what is actually true. It is often argued what is right and what is wrong.

New advertisements for the nursing field include posters designed for this campaign aimed to boost the attractiveness of the image of men in nursing by illustrating concepts of brotherhood, belonging, men helping men, and leading the way. One of the recent posters out there shows a student nurse "reverse mentoring" another nurse with technology proving that this is an educational line of work. AAMN, American Assembly for Men in Nursing, hopes that these contemporary images of professional, compassionate, and competent nurses will chip away at stereotypes about men in nursing (Stokowski

Male nurses are not typically encouraged by the society we live in today. Men are not in favor of being called nurses and maybe would have a bit more encouragement if the caregiver word would simply be changed from ‘nurse’ to ‘medic’ (Gorgos). Just the change in title can make a positive difference to both men and women in the nursing field. Men and women enter the nursing career with the same goals and interests; but are still yet separated by the name ‘nurse’ and ‘male nurse’ (Kouta). Eddie Hebert a 35-year nursing veteran claims that the caregiver one usually pictures a white woman. This image is being projected into the American public. He believes that, “Caregiving is not feminine; it's universal.” The lack of men in nursing though is, “a result of cultural stereotypes and image” (Gorgos). On the

The nursing field was mostly dominated by males before world war one, but census data from 2011 states that “Women outnumber them 10:1.” in the nursing field (Diamond). What used to be the norm of men being nurses and doctors have now switched. Josh Mitchell from the wall street journal reported that "Women account for a third of the nation's lawyers and doctors, a major shift from a generation ago”

Negative and unflattering stereotypes about nurses such as the sexy nurse, the physician’s handmaiden, glamorous hair, short skirt, and heavy makeup only damage the profession and drive candidates male or female away from the profession. Who wants to be part of a profession,

Nurses in the USA make up the biggest workforce of any country in the world. However nurses continue to be in short supply even with an aggressive campaign to attract foreign nurses (Brunetto et al., 2013). It is estimated that “the United States will need to have produced 1.13 million new RN’s to fill the future demand” (MeMenamin, 2014). Of the current-working nurses in the United States, “males represent approximately 7% of the nursing workforce…”(Colby, 2012). The percentage of men in nursing must improve if nursing is to become diversified. Although the number of men in the nursing profession is slowly growing, they will not have an impact on the future nursing shortage. In order for men to choose nursing over other professions, men should be exposed to the historical contributions of men in nursing, as well as changing the perception of male nurses. The lack of male representation in the field of nursing is due to “the feminization of modern day nursing by Florence Nightingale” (Colby, 2013) in the nineteenth century. Nightingale saw all women as nurses and believed that those who entered the nursing field “were doing what came naturally to them as women (Evans, 2003).” According to Evans (2003), “The failure to recognize their contributions leaves male nurses with little information about their professional background and historical position, a situation in which nurse Okrainec (1990) suggests perpetuates the notion that male nurses are anomalies.”

Today, most people perceive nursing as a women profession. Men who enter this field have been looked at as outcasts. Many individuals feel that a man does not belong in a “female” profession. I believe that statement to be untrue and unfair. The issue of gender discrimination in nursing is the same as any other professions. The only difference is nursing is dominated by women, and men are the minority fighting for equality. My goal in this paper is to help you understand why I’m arguing that men should be welcomed in the nursing profession.

Gender and the ways gender is portrayed in society varies from culture to culture. Gender roles have changed drastically, especially during the 20th century and continue to evolve to this day. For years now there have been preconceived notions about genders and the roles each one should play in society, home, workplace, etc. Most times gender roles are associated with stereotypes and previous gender roles. Gender role plays different parts in religion, culture, society, time periods, countries, etc. Women rights and power varies in time and location and it is very interesting to look at the events, cultures, and customs that were taking place in that particular time period to get a better idea of the gender role concept.

Even after decades, not much has changed regarding men in this specific career path. When we see movies like “meet the parents” in which the father in law constantly makes fun of Ben Stiller for being a male nurse when he clearly loves his job doesn’t seem to be fair. It is interesting to note that women today have taken positions in programs such as engineering, medicine, and law. However, they are not talked about as much as men in nursing field. Although females continue to exceed men as nurses significantly, the stats of male nurses have increased. The document “Men in nursing occupations” by liana Christian

The male nurses are gay or effeminate is one of the negative images that are popular in the society. The public view male nurses in negative ways as they believe that nursing is a woman’s profession. According to Fisher as cited in Young (2002), male nurses are frequently stereotyped as non-achievers, homosexuals, and feminine. It is called as non-achievers as public perceived that male should be in another profession such as physician or engineer (Young, 2002). This make the recruitment of male students into the nursing profession become difficult as their parent will disapprove it. Moreover, people also think that all male nurses are feminine and homosexuals as they choose to be in the woman’s profession which need them to be caring and more

Among twenty leading female-dominated professions, registered nurses (RN’s) are the second most occupation that employed women in 2006¬. Similar to many traditionally female professions, the percentage of male in nursing is small. In fact, male nurses only comprised eight percent of RN’s in 2008. Although much effort has been made to recruit more men into nursing, many contributing factors have driven them away from this profession. Those factors include poor nursing image, negative public perception, low economic status, and gender stereotypes. One of the most significant factors that deter men from entering the profession is stereotypes. Research shows that men might be more likely to encounter stereotypes than discrimination;

Society has clearly defined boundaries between what is considered to be male or female. The development of an individual’s gender role is formed by interactions with those in close proximity. Society constantly tells us how we should look, act and live based on gender. Family, friends and the media have a tremendous impact on how these roles are formed and the expected behavior of each gender role.

Ever since the dawn of time, women and men have been associated with specific gender roles that can be seen controversial in the eyes of many. Traits and roles associated with a specific gender can be either innate or learned over time. Looking into the deeper concept of gender roles and stereotypes, it is clear that these fixed gender roles are not naturally born with, but rather taught, learned, or influenced by external forces.