Forced wearing of nursing cap.

Nursing Students General Students

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  1. Is this sexist or gender bias?

    • 95
      yes
    • 101
      no

196 members have participated

I'm a senior registered nursing student and our school has a pinning ceremony to mark the completion of our program.

Our class contains about 20% men, equal split of black and white in both genders. I am approaching 50 and this is not my first career.

The director of the nursing program gave the class the "option to vote" on the wearing of a nurses cap for the pinning ceremony and our class photo. The majority of the class voted to wear the cap, men excluded from wear.

I do not wish to wear the cap and have been told by program director that "the class voted to wear it and you have to or you will not be able to participate". I understand the cap is traditional, but I feel it calls specific attention to my gender and not my success in passing nursing school. I've worked very hard to get where I'm at and I wish to celebrate my success with a pinning ceremony.

I truly feel that being "forced" to wear the cap is discriminatory based on my gender alone. Period. The guys are not made to wear them because they are considered "feminine or female dress", and I don't wish to be "forced" to dress as such either (we are all wearing pant-scrubs by unanimous vote).

I respect the choice of anyone else that wishes to wear the nursing cap. I don't and won't presume to force my opinion on them.

Has anyone else had this experience?

Does anyone know of any precedence against forced wearing of nursing caps to participate in school activities, etc? Any input on how else to proceed in approaching my school administration would be appreciated.

I welcome the input from both genders, seasoned and new nurses, students and educators, and anyone else on here that wants to chime in.

I ask only, that you be nice to me and each other. This is very serious for me.

Specializes in Trauma Surgical ICU.

I wonder where the OP is and what happened at pinning..

Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.

Me thinks the horse is quite dead on this one....

Court cases have been all over the place when it comes to complying with Title VII, however it can be said absent some pretty strong reasons gender specific dress codes are asking for a court case.

In the OP's particular instance the school did not make the decision but the students themselves via majority vote. Since the event has not yet occured nor is it entirely clear she would be stopped from attending graduation if she didn't wear the cap, not sure how the OP has been harmed.

Sex-Stereotyping and Dress Codes Under Title VII: Why Courts Can't Get it Right

She says she has to wear the cap or not participate in the ceremony. She wants to participate. This is gender discrimination.

Fight it, OP, fight it. Do NOT stand down, as so many here on the Board suggest. It's little, it's not important, just graduate, just go along to get along, just take the mark of the Beast. I'm telling you, if it matters enough to you, contact your federal senators and House of Reps and learn which fed office handles gender discrimination.

As another person said earlier, your school likely receives federal monies, therefore, should be subject to all anti-discrimination laws. Never mind that students did the voting - it is the school itself telling you "no cap, no participation".

And yes, it is a great question - would an Orthodox Jewish married woman who wears a wig in mixed company or a covered Muslim woman have to wear the cap? Oh, this complex world of ours!

Just don't lay down and die because some school official said you have to do this or not do that. Fight for your rights.

But :facepalm: this is not sex discrimination. You are not being denied any of the facilities or opportunities of your educational program based on your gender. A photograph doesn't meet that standard. Care to play again?

Well then by that argument she can show up for the photograph in a cap, and a jockstrap worn on the outside.

Mandating all females wear a cap or they will be excluded, is sex discrimination.

Care to play again?

:: patiently ::: No, sex discrimination is based on gender (including, in my opinion, gender identity), not dress. Match point.

I viewed my cap with the same pride any graduate would of their neat little graduation cap and tassel!

I never viewed it as sexist anymore than I view my brassiere!

Some things are made for women, some things are made for men.

This is just my opinion and I am in no way would I attempt to change anyone else's opinion on the matter.

Funny, but the men in my graduating class actually commented on a wee bit of jealousy that we women wore caps.

Not that they wanted to strut across the stage in a cap, but that they appreciated the tradition.

Holding that cap in my hands for the first time was an amazing feeling. I thought it was beautiful!

It was a symbol for what I had achieved.

But I was lucky, I wanted to wear that cap and our class voted in favor of the cap.

Had they not, then I would have dealt.

It might not be an important issue to you, but, maybe attending the pinning ceremony IS important to the OP, who knows. Attending mine was to me, anyway.

I transferred into my college from another college program in the fall of my sophomore year, and they had had their capping ceremony at the end of the spring semester. I picked up my hat at the uniform store and suffered no angst over it. My only problem was that I had never, to my knowledge, seen the cap of my new college and didn't know how to put it together. I had no way of knowing that the patch of the college seal on it had been sewn on upside down, so it was a puzzlement until my first clinical day.

I took my finals a week early because I was moving out of town, but to the best of my knowledge there was no pinning ceremony anyway. I got my pin at the bookstore, and suffered no angst over that either.

And I bow to no one over my passion and commitment to nursing, both professionally and personally. Symbols are great, but those moments pass.

:: patiently ::: No, sex discrimination is based on gender (including, in my opinion, gender identity), not dress. Match point.

And only ONE GENDER is being required to wear the hat.

Not even remotely discriminatory in any way shape or form. They have basically said this is part of your student formal uniform, hell they even gave you the courtesy of letting the students vote on it. If you choose not to wear your complete uniform then you may not participate. Do you think officers are given any choice in what they wear? No, it's a uniform. So basically this falls under first world problems.

You voted as a class.

Majority ruled

And only ONE GENDER is being required to wear the hat.

Here is a photo from Clinton Community College in New York during their pinning ceremony. As you can see, the MALE'S are not wearing caps.

Ceremonies-Capping and Pinning

A photo of a nursing class from 1899, with two male nurses in attendence. NO CAP.

Nursing History Digitization Project

Here is a photo from "back in the day" of female nurses, all in caps, in the 1950's.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5137/5402056018_b01e304ed9_z.jpg

Caps were a FEMALE part of the FEMALE uniform. Just like men wear ties and women wear bra's, again caps are a part of the FEMALE UNIFORM.

People who scream discrimination over something this ridiculous are attention-seeking, IMO.

Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.

You will only be wearing it for a few hours. Then yin can trash it and likely never have to wear one again! You just graduated nursing school, don't let something so trivial become an issue. Shoot if they told me I could graduate tomorrow, but I had to a cap, I would suck it up and strut in their like the King of England! Lol! Jk! But seriously, don't let that brief moment submission ruin the Bigger Picture you've made it threw nursing school.

The only time the girls in Our program wear the caps is at pinning, and most of then can't wait to wear it because it means they will be finished!

Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.
The class voted, you lost. Your options are to wear the cap or not participate. Simple.

It's not something to get worked up over. I personally agree with you about the caps, but it's not a sword to die upon, nor is it something to tarnish an otherwise special event. If you want to attend, wear the cap. Keep it for your next naughty nurse / zombie nurse/ nurse Ratchet Halloween costume. I you can't bring yourself to wear the cap, skip the ceremony. Your accomplishments are independent of any ceremony.

Couldn't have said it better.

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