Gay male nurse stereotype?

Sharingan · Mar 26, 2009

We have 10 male students (out of 48 in the class) and there are only 2 gay men among us guys. They never try to hide it. Everyone knows and we all are cool with that. Nobody cares really. Both of them are really nice/good students. They are really popular with the girls by the way.

tigress_8207, ASN, BSN · Apr 1, 2009

Hi all i'm a female nursing student and i use to wonder if male nurses were gay too.Guess i use to believe the stereotyping thing.But since starting my programme i can honestly say it's just a myth and i actually get along better with the males that the females and very glad to have them around.Wish more men would join this wonderful career.

Atheos · Apr 1, 2009

Shrug. At my facility there are 8 guys. 3 Nurses, 4 Aides and the administrator.

4 of us are straight, 3 of us are gay and one of us is bi.

Not sure how it worked out that way. Shrug. Not like it really matters though.

We hire nurses and CNA's. Not bedroom police!

Mistertee · Apr 4, 2009

Well I amnot gay and I get annoyed when pther professionals and patients think I'm gay. ***....just because I am a nurse doesn't mean I'm gay!!! Fine if you don't want me to the foley I'll just pass it along to a female nurse..lol...less work for me haha

ZanatuBelmont · Apr 5, 2009

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.

It comes from nursing being a "female field." The idea of a man in American culture is to be aggressive and distant, unlike the "female role" society creates of nurturing, sensitive and passive. When a male enters this role, it conflicts with roles society has created. That is changing, though - our society is becoming more gender neutral.

Atheos · Apr 5, 2009

Well I amnot gay and I get annoyed when pther professionals and patients think I'm gay. ***....just because I am a nurse doesn't mean I'm gay!!! Fine if you don't want me to the foley I'll just pass it along to a female nurse..lol...less work for me haha

So... ummm...

Why does anyone even care if people think you are gay? So what...

Does it really matter?

Insecure much???

leemacaz · Apr 5, 2009

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.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 6, 2009

it comes from nursing being a "female field." the idea of a man in american culture is to be aggressive and distant, unlike the "female role" society creates of nurturing, sensitive and passive. when a male enters this role, it conflicts with roles society has created. that is changing, though - our society is becoming more gender neutral.

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.

itsbuzzy · May 4, 2009

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

Ksather222 · May 6, 2009

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.

CountyRat · May 6, 2009

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?

DuluthMike · May 6, 2009

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?