Does It Matter Whether Male Nurses Are Masculine or Feminine?

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Found at SLATE website during my internet wanderings today. Karen

Does It Matter Whether Male Nurses Are Masculine or Feminine?

By J. Bryan Lowder

Posted Monday, Nov. 14, 2011

From the Department of Things We Should Be Over Already:

In this month's issue of the American Journal of Men's Health, researchers from East Tennessee State University discover that male nurses are, contrary to popular belief, capable of acting like men. In a nationwide survey of nursing students, Kenny Thompson, RN, and his colleagues asked respondents to characterize their gender expression via a series of questions addressing various stereotypical measures like gentleness and aggressiveness; they found that, on a scale of 1-to-7, male nurses score a hearty 5.3, compared to their non-nurse bros' sissy 4.9. More shocking, however, is the fact that these bedside warriors are also able to be feminine, scoring 5.50 on the same scale. The conclusion?

The findings boil down to one thing: Nursing students in the present study are more androgynous than general students studied previously.

That's right: Male nurses exhibit characteristics that might be called feminine or masculine in basically equal amounts. This shouldn't come as such a surprise.

In 2011, we should be well past the hand-wringing associated with whether a given profession is appropriate for a given sex, or, indeed, whether working a particular job makes us butch or femme. Well-adjusted individuals (i.e. people who aren't hung up on restrictive and outmoded definitions) can and do deploy all kinds of "gendered" behaviors at various points in time. In fact, I would argue that to be successful and socially intelligent people, we have to be willing and able to play what amounts to a drag game every day: different situations, whether in the ER or elsewhere, require us to wear different wigs. Or use different toolboxes, if that makes you feel dudelier....

[GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN]

honestly speaking, it doesn't matter that some of us have more testosterone than others. however, in my case i'm 6" tall bodybuilder and i have a baritone voice and at times i could look intimidating. having said that, 96% of my patients are men, which makes them feel more comfortable if you will, with my appearance and manners. needless to say, i also have a gentle side to my character which comes out whenever it's required. with that said, nursing is a demanding career that requires you to wear many hats. following this further, in my team at work there are a couple of guys that are feminine in their gestures, which in their defense they are the two most knowledgeable duo in med-surg. lastly, we come in many colors and sizes, what makes us excellent at what we do, is not our physical nor our manners but our capabilities.

[whatever...]

Does it really matter??? Just do your J-O-B to the best of your ability, and that's it! Why worry about something so petty.

[GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN]

does it really matter??? just do your j-o-b to the best of your ability, and that's it! why worry about something so petty.

in my book it really doesn't matter at all.

[whatever...]

Same in my book Bro.,.....But I guess it does to others.