Gay male nurse stereotype?

Speaking as a patient/possible future patient.....I find most intimate care to be less embarrassing for me if it is by another male...the point is I am not there for any extracuricular activities nor am I particularly interested in your private lives...I flatly do not care what sexuality you are or anything beyond being a provider of medical service..and am only too glad and feel real fortunate when I can get a male nurse/cna...By the time I am well enough to have any converstaion about anything but business..I should be on my way home.

Actually, the stereotype probably comes from the fact that 30 years or so ago, the only men in nursing WERE either gay or former seminarians or both. My first few years in nursing, I knew several male nurses and they were all gay with the possible exception of one defrocked priest. But then, he used to hang out at gay bars, too. Things ARE changing and these days I know far more straight nurses (of both genders) than gay ones.

I don't see where it comes from either. I have yet to work with another gay male CNA, LPN, or RN. At times it is a little disappointing, but i'm there to learn anyways. LOL

I am the only gay guy in my class out of seven. However, the girls all sit next to me in class even though they know they are barking up the wrong tree. I have been in healthcare for over 25 years and have met only a small number of gay men in nursing.

I think that the reason that men in nursing are sometimes stereotyped as gay, while women in medicine are not, derives from the common fantasy of nurses as sexually promiscuous (a prejudice rarely imposed on physicians). In the past, nurses were often used in literature and film as objects of male sexual fantasies. When a man identified himself as a nurse, many people interpreted that in the context of the larger stereotype of the "naughty nurse," and made their perceptions more concordant with their prejudices by regarding the man as gay (an extension of the fantasy of women in nursing as prostitutes, or at least, promiscuous).

I have been in the game for 28 years now, and I think there is less sexualizing (is that a word?) of the nurse in society, and with it, less stereotyping of men in nursing as gay. That, however, is my unscientific perception. What do you guys think?

In my class of 14 there are 5 men. I'm fairly sure that none of us are homosexual, but if any were I would not care. We are all humans who care and that is all that maters. Regarding patients, I have yet to be accused or asked if I was homosexual by them. Even though I am heterosexual I would likely tell them that I was there to provide care to them, not to discuss my sexual orientation. This may make me come off as homosexual to them, but I'm not about to take the "oh its okay, I have a girlfriend!" route. That seems to communicate that I'm okay because I'm a heterosexual male nurse, not one of them. Props to all my hetero and homosexual male nurses.

This line of action may initiate conflict with patients who are uncomfortable/scared of homosexuals... is my line in this mater kosher? How does providing the utmost care and compassion work when you would have to compromise your morals and values in order to make a patient comfortable?

That "naughty nurse" characterization really gets me steamed! My friends have asked if I'll be in their gay internet porno video as the "naughty nurse" once I get out of school. Which is an even bigger "joke" when you consider I'm fat, bald, and forty. I know they're just giving me a hard time, but still it really winds me up.

I'd like to have a word with whoever thought that up! (BIFF, SOCK, OWWWW!)

But to return to the original thread, I think this idea is just as valid as any of the others.

What we need to do is show that, gay or straight, men belong in nursing right alongside women doctors.

Gender bias is so Twentieth Century!

Paganoid wrote, "That "naughty nurse" characterization really gets me steamed!" Me too, bro. Being thought of as gay never bothered me. It just made me laugh and shrug my shoulders. However, the representation of my women colleagues as whores really gets me steamed. I lived with a couple hundred women in the dorm during nursing school (yeah, big classes) and got to know many of them very well. The woman RNs I came to know earned my respect, and when I see them protrayed as toys for the pleasure of grubby little men, it ****** me off. Kind of a brotherly protective thing I guess (though most of the ladies in nursing that I know can take care of themselves without any help from the boys, thank you very much!)

Paganoid writes, "That "naughty nurse" characterization really gets me steamed" Same by me, bro. Being thought of as gay never bothered me, it just made me chuckle. However, seeing my colleagues portrayed as whores in tight white uniforms really torks me of. In nursing school I lived in a dorm with a couple hundred women and a couple dozen men (yeah, big classes at my school). I got to be close to several of the ladies in my class, and they earned my respect. When I see these exceptional women being portrayed as toys for grubby little men to get off on, it really torks me off. Kind of a protective brotherly thing, I guess, although the nurses that I know do not need my protection, they can put slobbering males in their place very skillfully, without any help from their male colleagues, thank you very much!

That's an interesting question! I think it would entirely depend on the situation you're in. If the patient asks personal questions, answer them as far as you're comfortable, gay or straight. Draw the line but be respectful about it. If lying to the patient about your sexual orientation will make your day go better, just go with it. If it were me I would answer honestly, but to each their own.

Note: If you decide to reveal your orientation, and assume your supervisor will reassign you and treat you no differently than before, make sure your state protects you from workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. In those states I think lying about your sexual orientation to a patient would be the lesser of two evils. Just my thoughts, though.