Gender Stereotypes In The Nursing Profession

The nursing profession is viewed as a predominately female- concentrated profession, and for several decades the number of men entering the profession has not changed (Meadus and Twomey, 2011). According to Canadian Nurses Association (2009), Men compromised 6.2% of registered nurses employed in the nursing workforce. There are still many gender barriers and bias that exist in the profession that male nurses face, which can be negative and positive at times. In the nursing profession, men face barriers of sexual stereotypes and bias attitudes, both sexes are not treated equally in the workforce, and men are criticized for the intimate touch. Meadus states that the Patriarchal attitudes towards the perception of caring, which is that you must possess uniquely feminine traits, continues to diminish men in todays society within the nursing profession. Sexual stereotypes are one of the main barriers that male nurses have to overcome. They are continuously questioned about their masculinity and continuously try to protect their masculine identity. In the nursing profession “It is assumed that men who choose nursing are gay.” These assumptions again go back to the patriarchal belief that the fundamentals of nursing and caring is …show more content…
Fathers are depicted to be distant from caring and nurturing. Whereas, “The ideology of mothering leads to the normalization of the idea that women have nonsexual intimate physical contact with another’s body.” From this ideology, men are at risk of being seen as less feeling than women, and mothering has become associated with nursing. People have been conditioned from childhood to except such care from women, but it can be strange to accept such care from men. Intimate physical touch for all nurses can lead to misinterpretation and accusations of inappropriate behaviour, but it is riskier for male