Do women find male nurses attractive?

Nurses Men

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Hi

So I'm a young, single, heterosexual male nurse, and I'm well aware that I'm somewhat of a minority, as most nurses are female, and the ones that aren't, are often gay (yes, I know that is just a silly stereotype, and there's nothing wrong with being gay, but that's beside my point).

Thing is, I'm not even remotely feminine- I have a beard, I listen to heavy metal, I climb mountains, I work out, etcetera. But I get paranoid that most people probably perceive me as a little "girly" or "possibly homosexual", when I talk about being a nurse. I feel especially insecure about my masculinity when I'm walking home wearing my uniform past some heavy set dudes doing roadworks or construction or something "manly". Sometimes, I've even lied about studying nursing at uni- I've sometimes said I'm studying engineering, to seem more masculine.

I'm not ashamed of being a nurse- I'm damn proud! But I feel a little insecure due to the silly non-masculine stereotypes associated with my career choice. I'm also single and looking for a girlfriend, but I sense that women might think I'm gay, or unmanly, due to my profession. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

Anyway, my main question is- ladies, do you find male nurses attractive? Do you like the idea of a man taking care of you? Or does it seem unmanly and unattractive?

Regards - Sykadia

I was so hoping that this thread had died....

This thread will never die.

Muahahhaaaaaa!

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NO! We are more attractiver.

YOU are, when you smack down on vaccines. :bag:

Rare exception.

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Muahahhaaaaaa!

Farawyn! Where have you been?! There has been egregious misuse of ellipses on several occasions lately without so much as a peep from you! :woot:

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Farawyn! Where have you been?! There has been egregious misuse of ellipses on several occasions lately without so much as a peep from you! :woot:

*hugs*

I took a break. I'm back. Missed you all!!!

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I do not find male nurses attractive. I was married to a man who became one and we divorced shortly after. I would not mind a male nurse taking care of me because most male nurses focus more on the technique than the emotional side of it, but I would never find one attractive. I grew up with a father that was a brick mason, my brother is a brick mason, the other brother is a surveyor. I just consider a man that works inside feminine.

A simple, concise, answer to a goofy question. Jen does not find male nurses attractive. There is some criticism here for her reasoning, but that is ridiculous. She has an idea of what a man should be like like and do. Fair enough. As luck would have it for male nurses, there are around 157 million other women in this country, so I don't think the OP needs to panic. (To be fair, only 60 million or so are single, but still, a pretty wide playing field.)

And, There has some criticism to Jen about men being less compassionate. As one of those men, I have to agree. I just had a demented patient with intractable pain. I did not hug her, or her mother. I did not spend much time verbalizing my empathy. I did not even mention my how I had made similar decisions with my own mother. I did ensure appropriate pain relief, and advocated for palliative care. And got it. The daughter really appreciated it.

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And, There has some criticism to Jen about men being less compassionate. As one of those men, I have to agree. I just had a demented patient with intractable pain. I did not hug her, or her mother. I did not spend much time verbalizing my empathy. I did not even mention my how I had made similar decisions with my own mother. I did ensure appropriate pain relief, and advocated for palliative care. And got it. The daughter really appreciated it.

I'm female. I don't do any of that stuff either unless the patient wants it. You can show you care without pandering (and sometimes that stuff comes across as gushy and pandering, and it annoys me). That has more to do with personality than gender. I've met men who are very huggy -and that's fine, that's their personality. If you need a hug, I'll give it. I'm not cold, I'm just not super touchy.

Nothing to do with gender and that sort of stereotype is equally wrong.

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I'm just a student but during clinicals, all the male nurses have been straight. The class a head of me that graduated last spring there were 3 guys and two were straight! Plus my old roommates dad is/was a ER nurse and he's very masculine Cajun man (who makes awesome gumbo). These days nursing isn't just a female job and not sure why it's always been stereotyped as a feminine type job with all the blood, poop, life threatening situations that occur...maybe it was the care-giving aspect of it....which the male nurses that I've seen have been great at that as well.

Anywho back to your main question. Yes if I'm attracted to him . I think one day finding someone who can sympathize with me as a nurse, would be awesome. Sadly all the ones I've met so far are married lol.

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Specializes in IMC, school nursing.
In school, out of 65 people in my class, there were 8-10 guys. Only 1 was gay...but we also had 2 lesbians, so not sure how that fits into your equation. Do they cancel each other out?

On my old unit, there were at least 15-18 male RNs -- and only 1 or 2 are gay. On the flip side there were a couple of lesbians there as well.

Let's put this in perspective: 1/9, 2/18 etc. when gays represent 2% of the population shows a statistical proclivity that nursing "attracts" male nurses. That's plain statistics folks, we could be comparing apples and oranges, but the numbers don't lie. I still think OP has some insecurities that make themselves evident before he ever speaks, but don't trash him for something that is proven mathematically by the protractors examples.

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Specializes in IMC, school nursing.
Farawyn! Where have you been?! There has been egregious misuse of ellipses on several occasions lately without so much as a peep from you! :woot:

Farawyn, I corrected my wife the other day, as she used 5. You are the ellipse evangelist!!!

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I have worked with a few dozen male nurses. Most are more compassionate than the average macho male, and that's good. I've only met one that was gay, he was my DON and he was surprisingly mean, as that was not my usual experience with gay males. (I'm From Santa Cruz, CA, where there is a very liberal population and a high number of gays, my best friend was a gay male there).

Then I moved to a Military town full of macho men and I have never been treated so badly in all my life. Very different from my life in nursing home and hospital work. Also men in Santa Cruz I think were more kind, less pushy about sex. More "normal " I think. Nurses or not. More like gentlemen I guess.

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Stereotype or not, it shouldn't matter. If you show interest in a woman why would she think you're gay? Personally, if a man asks me on a date or flirts with me, I just assume that he is attracted to women... but it honestly it just doesn't cross my mind. Why would it? I used to play softball, a sport that is often stereotyped to be "gay" but this did not affect my dating life in any way. If someone assumes you're gay because of your profession or hobbies without even bothering to get to know you then they are certainly not worth your time.

As for whether or not male nurses are considered "attractive"... in my circle there are quite a few of us who find male nurses or "murses" to be quite charming. To be a good nurse it takes hard work, intelligence and empathy - qualities which are very attractive IMO. Just be confident with yourself and don't worry about stereotypes.

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Specializes in Ortho.

A man being a nurse is a plus for me. If you're a nurse it automatically means you're smart (even the easiest nursing school in the world still requires serious intelligence!), it means you have determination, it means you're goal oriented, it means you have relative job security (and I'm not talking about the dollar amount, I'm talking strictly about the fact that you don't have to stress about "what if I lose my job??" the way many do), it means you're responsible at least to a reasonable extent, you're probably pretty strong (nursing requires some real strength sometimes!), you're bound to have a sense of humor because that's the only way to survive some of this nursing stuff, and that whole thing with women liking men in uniforms, for a lot of women that includes scrubs (it does for me!). So the short of the story is, when I think about a man being a nurse, my first thoughts don't go to that he works in a field currently dominated by women and that makes him feminine (which is not true), my first thoughts go to everything he's got going for him and what a catch he is. And remember, if no men are ever brave enough to take on a profession where they are a minority, they ALWAYS WILL BE the minority, it will never change. Women are finally getting brave enough to become doctors and, while the field is still male dominated, that IS changing, and the only way it will continue to change is if more women continue to step up. The same goes for men in nursing. It will only continue to change if men continue to step up and take on the challenge. And that is the only way to get rid of these silly stereotypes; eventually the stigma will disappear, and you'll be proud to have played a part in demolishing it. Nursing is an awesome profession and no one should ever have to feel anything less than pride for being a part of it, and I just hate that the world tries to make men feel badly about being nurses.

Recap:

Nursing is awesome

All nurses are awesome regardless of gender

Male nurses are awesome and appealing to women

You rock, don't let stereotypes get to you! :)

ETA: In answer to your other question, NO a man taking care of a woman is not unmanly or unattractive, it is gentlemanly and very attractive to most women.

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