Gay male nurse stereotype?

Nursing Students Male Students

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So, a question has arisen in my mind since I have been in CNA class waiting for nursing school to start.

There are only 2 guys in my class of 25, and the other guy is married and I'm gay. After doing clinicals in the hospital, I have yet to see another gay male CNA or nurse.

Where does this stereotype come from? I am not seeing it at all.

i have to say this stereotype must be dying out. (i am a straight 18 y/o female for what it's worth.) i have never assumed someone is gay because he is a nurse. i have never even heard of such a stereotype. literally i even asked me roommates and they said they had never heard of that either. seems a very strange thing to assume.... as for the name change that would be a great idea hopefully it could catch on

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i have to say this stereotype must be dying out. (i am a straight 18 y/o female for what it's worth.) i have never assumed someone is gay because he is a nurse. i have never even heard of such a stereotype. literally i even asked me roommates and they said they had never heard of that either. seems a very strange thing to assume.... as for the name change that would be a great idea hopefully it could catch on

It intersting that people feel the need to mention whether they are straight or gay when making a comment. It tells me there is a problem.

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

Well, I think it's natural for straight persons to want to make it clear that they are not gay in the context of this discussion in the same way that a woman may want to make her gender clear in a discussion where that is germane.

On the other hand, you have a point, it shouldn't matter as far as the job goes...

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It shouldn't matter. period.

I didn't mean for my previous reply to sound like I was attacking you. Sorry. It was just a thought that ran through my mind. This coming from an older conservative guy that has done a 180 degree about face on the subject. when I was younger i had one view but through a life of experience and personal observations i now have another view.

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I don't know where it came from and I have never even heard of it before. Personally I think it's the stupidest sterotype on the planet. To say that gay people are anymore attracted to helping care for people is outrageously small minded

People who are getting into the nursing field for the right reasons of caring for people are expressing a very natural, human emotion of love and compassion. It has nothing to do what sex you are or what your orientation is.

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Specializes in Wilderness Medicine, ICU, Adult Ed..

I'm not too keen on coining a new title for nurses who are men. The title should reflect the service members of the profession provide. Since men and women in nursing provide the same services, based on the same academic and clinical preparation, they are colleagues within the same profession and their title should reflect that. Still, I have to admit that I enjoy the humor of some of the proposed titles, like "murses." Sometimes, the best way to counter wrong-headedness is to mock it with humor.

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Specializes in ED, psych, burn ICU, hospice.

I recently sat in on a lecture regarding male nurses. I learned that: The first nurses, hundreds of years ago, were male...the (forget official title) Army Nurse Corp (seems like it was armed forces or related force) were responsible for seeing that only females entered and maintained the field of nursing...it was only until recent times (comparatively speaking) that men were allowed back into the nursing field, giving the impression that only women are nurses...

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I recently sat in on a lecture regarding male nurses. I learned that: The first nurses, hundreds of years ago, were male...the (forget official title) Army Nurse Corp (seems like it was armed forces or related force) were responsible for seeing that only females entered and maintained the field of nursing...it was only until recent times (comparatively speaking) that men were allowed back into the nursing field, giving the impression that only women are nurses...

Think we need to remind them of that.

Got calls in HS from recruiters from the Army and Marines. When I mentioned wanting to become a nurse, they both simply hung up on me.

I for one am only really attracted to women, but I'm adventurous...

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I think there are more lesbians than gay men in nursing.

Out of the 90 students in my 1st semester nursing class, 15 are men and 2 (including me) are gay men. And now, the other gay guy didn't make it through the first semester, so it's only me now.

Nursing isn't cosmotology. :D

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Probably because there are more women in nursing? I used to want this thread to die now I wonder how long we can keep it alive.

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Specializes in VA-BC, CRNI.
Think we need to remind them of that.

Got calls in HS from recruiters from the Army and Marines. When I mentioned wanting to become a nurse, they both simply hung up on me.

I for one am only really attracted to women, but I'm adventurous...

Don't ask don't tell....wonder why they hung up on you.

To be honest the military is starving for RNs right now, they wouldn't leave me alone.

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It's funny that some people still think male nurse = automatically gay. Most male nurses I've known are straight. Two (if not three) of the residents I worked with in my one of my last jobs were gay- obviously, they were all physicians. All of the male nurses that I worked with in that job were straight (as far as I knew;) . Out of the 11 or so guys in my class, only 2 were gay (including me) and I suspected that a third was in the closet. Both of those guys did extremely well in our class; there's no doubt in my mind that they are excellent nurses. So my life experience in relation to this topic leads me to draw two firm conclusions: 1)The profession or occupation someone chooses (for the most part) has VERY little, if not anything, to do with their sexual orientation; and 2)Sexual orientation doesn't influence one's level of professionalism and ability to excel in a rigorous, high-stakes profession such as nursing. Lastly, many straight people don't realize that gay people are everywhere- many of us are harder (or even impossible) to pick out because we don't fit the stereotype. Not that there's anything wrong with someone who fits the stereotype- some people are just like that. But seriously, there are some gay people that even I couldn't pick out of a crowd- and I have some pretty damn good gaydar :D

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