Gender Roles Since The 1980 's And Their Impact On The Nursing Profession

Blum consulted University of California at Berkeley behavioral endocrinologist Marc Breedlove about how hormones contribute to gender differences. Breedlove’s studies support the idea that there are biological differences between males and females that distinguish each gender’s behavior. This suggests that it’s worthwhile to look at human evolution to understand why these biological differences exist – what is the purpose of masculinity and why do masculine traits such as aggression develop predominantly in males?

Nursing as a profession has faced many barriers over the centuries. One of the most defining barriers discussed in regard to the historical experience of nurses is the effects of its being considered, and for the most part being, work done by women. In evaluating nursing history it is necessary therefore to evaluate the ways in which society has evolved over time in terms of its views on the roles of nurses of women within the society and its institutions. In the U.S., the inception of nursing both as an occupation and later as a profession, has strong ties to the challenge of women's perceived role as a wife and mother whose sphere was solely domestic. In many ways, significant progress has been made from that time in what women and

The easy adjustment of the Batista children led scientists to challenge the usual view that male or female behaviour is determined more by the way we are brought up than by our physiology. They suggest that there may be part of the brain which is different in males and females which governs much of what we think of as sex-role behaviour. However, critics of the Biological approach would argue the Batista’s may have been able to adopt masculine behaviour more readily because of their supportive environment, rather than biological changes. If biological factors explained gender

Anthropologist Margaret Mead addressed the differences in temperament found between men and women in her book Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies (1935). In this study she concluded that sex has no bearing on social traits and the temperament of an individual. Her research looked at whether masculine or feminine traits are innate or learned. She also questioned whether men and women differ because of nature (heredity) or nurture (socialization). She concludes that cultural conditioning is more important than biology in shaping the behavior of women and men. The observed differences in temperament between men and women are not a function of their biological differences. Rather, they result from differences in the socialization

Nursing has greatly changed throughout the years and many aspects. The nursing profession has had to overcome obstacles pertaining to public perception, education, and different issues within the field. These three aspects have been the most influential on the profession because they have all helped evolve and shape the profession and image. A negative image does not persuade others to join the occupation, view it positively, or treat nurses with respect. Conversely, a positive image has proven to influence the profession strongly with incentives to join and to be viewed respectively. A Hisory of American Nursing, Trends and Eras by Deborah Judd and Kathleen Sitzman further elaborate on the influential trends which shaped nursing image in the past and present.

Sociologists reject the idea that behavioural differences between men and women are biologically determined. Outline the key grounds for this rejection and discuss what this means for a sociological understanding of gender.

So, men tend to be more logical and less emotional than women. The structure and function of the brain will vary due to experience. All the biological influences have an effect on the way men and women behave and interact around others, such as a friend or a crush. The way emotions and feelings are portrayed also depend on the societal norms that a woman or man undergo. Both biology and society do affect the way relationships and body language is formed among people (Grossman & Wood, 1993).

Evolutionary history effects more than just genetic behaviour level. It also effects how society socializes its members. Males –despite having the innate behaviors and perspectives on relationships— experience socialization that, in essence, reinforces gender differences in perspectives and behavior. From early childhood up until adulthood, the individual is bombarded with a plethora of advertisments that portray males as more aggressive (Henslin p. 78). In television male newscasters turn female athletes into sexual objects (78). And socialization is not limited to the media. It begins in the home –within the family. In an experiment performed by Goldberg and Lewis, Mothers were more less likely to keep their boys

In Trumpet, Jackie Kay engages with the distinctions and confusions between biological sex and constructed gender through the use of multiple narrators. Each character has their own views and confusions of gender and sex and their feelings towards this particular situation involving Joss Moody. There are characters whom believe that gender and biological sex are the same and others whom believe that there is more fluidity involving the relationship between the two, and believe that gender is constructed and not under a biological category. Biological sex is defined by our anatomy as female, male or intersex and it includes our internal and external sex organs, chromosomes and hormones. Whereas gender is the socially constructed roles, behaviours,

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

     Biology too plays a major role in the differences between male and female. Genetically, there are differing chromosomes. XY for male and XX for female. These chromosome differences account for the physical differences that men and women have. In dealing with body composition, males are more likely to be taller and more muscular. Males also have testosterone, the male sex hormone. It is said that males with high levels are more confrontational and smile less. Women that have low levels of estrogen, the female sex hormone, are said to be more disagreeable and confrontational. Maybe because men have such a huge advantage over women by being physically larger, they are supposed to be more aggressive and women having less physical strength are supposed to be the nurturers.

Nonetheless, there are also environmental factors, or so-called social factors. What drew my attention the most is that it is not genuinely known what makes such distinction between men and women, nature or nurture. Where nurture takes on a huge role that kind of teaches individuals through life experiences. The video indicated that most of the neural connections were seen during adulthood. In a way children start to make connections by watching others and mimicking the same act and as they grow older they start making life decisions based on learned experiences. In a way these experiences help guide the individual on how they think when solving a problem or

All societies behave in a different way towards two sexes and distinguish two genders. Through innumerable indications, we are taught that men and women are different. In everyday life, it is commonly assumed that men are more aggressive than women. Statistics indicate that males are more likely than females to commit such crimes as murder, armed robbery, and aggravated assault which are the result of feeling aggressive. In addition men describe themselves as being aggressive to a greater extent than do women and show greater potential for acting aggressively. All of these assumptions lead us to a certain question: Why are human males more aggressive than females? Actually, there are two

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;

Nursing advocates are relying on men to join the nursing profession to help curb a projected nursing shortage and play a crucial role in creating true gender inclusion and balance to strengthen the future of the nursing profession to improve the overall quality of care for it’s diverse patient population (Kowal 2).