Student nurse Jack MacFarland... Discuss

susanmary · Dec 7, 2003

Jack's so funny. Last episode he was trying to pull rank & get seated at an exclusive restaurant and said something like ... "I hate to pull rank ... but I'm a student nurse." His attitude is that it's the greatest, more revered position in life.

This is not a serious show ... and no topic is taboo ... you need to realize this when watching the show & not get riled up regarding the Jack being gay & a nursing student. We all know gay nurses ... we all know straight nurses. Please, let's not turn this into a debate if Jack (a character on tv) would make a good nurse. This show portrays gay characters in many, many professions.

I still love when Jack & Karen are on screen -- as funny as Lucy & Ricky or any other characters on tv.

marilynmom, LPN, NP · Dec 7, 2003

I LOVE THIS SHOW!!! It is one of the funnies shows on tv I think.

As far as Jack being a gay nurse who gives a flip--it is FUNNY!! LOL And let me tell you I wish all I had to do was walk up to the admissions desk at the hospital and "sign up" to be a nurse...lol

Hell they show gay people on the show as stereotypical in a lot of ways too, they make fun of everything. Nothing about it is reality in the least.

I like Scrubs too :)

Marilyn

mona b RN, BSN, RN · Dec 7, 2003

As far as Jack being a gay nurse who gives a flip--it is FUNNY!! LOL And let me tell you I wish all I had to do was walk up to the admissions desk at the hospital and "sign up" to be a nurse...lol

Amen and ain't it the truth. :rolleyes:

mona

agent · Dec 8, 2003

Originally posted by PJMommy
Don't really watch Will & Grace much (not much time for T.V.) but my first knee-jerk thought is that I don't like the implication that gay men and women are nurses. Hoping not to get flamed here...I'm not trying to start a confrontation. Not that there is anything at all wrong with gay men in nursing -- but kind of hard to lure straight guys into nursing when it is perceived as a profession for women or gay men. Just that's my two cents.
PJ

Thank you for saying that. I was going to say the same thing.

Peeps Mcarthur · Dec 8, 2003

By Pjmommy

I don't like the implication that gay men and women are nurses. Hoping not to get flamed here...I'm not trying to start a confrontation. Not that there is anything at all wrong with gay men in nursing -- but kind of hard to lure straight guys into nursing when it is perceived as a profession for women or gay men.

Although I do love that character and that show, I think this is a very good point. Of course it's ok to enjoy the show and take it for what it is; just a sitcom. The bigger picture here, and perhapse more disturbing, is that a majority of nurses would not see this as promotin of a steryotype.....................................unless it was the loose, doctor-chasing, sex kitten stereotype:imbar ! If that were the case, this thread would be on its 20th page with emotional passionate responses calling for a boycott no doubt.

There's an Al Pacino movie out. In that movie Pacino's character gets homecare from a male nurse. Take a guess as to the nurse's flammingly obvious sexual orientation.

Yup....you're right.

Can anybody give an example of a male nurse, supporting or lead actor, in movies or tv that the producers go so far out of thier way to make appear heterosexual? No? Why do you think that might be?

Because 96% of nurses are female, and most of those don't see a problem with it.

Until a nurse is portrayed as a sex kitten that prances around in pumps and displays every legal inch of her body in a skin tight outfit that she obviously couldn't sit down in if she tried.

I do love the show, and Jack has to be Jack so the character must be gay, but the bit would be just as funny if Harry Connick's character would quit his practice and go to school to be a nurse.

He could even be a "himbo" if you just can't live without a steryotype.

twarlik · Dec 8, 2003

Originally posted by Peeps Mcarthur
Can anybody give an example of a male nurse, supporting or lead actor, in movies or tv that the producers go so far out of thier way to make appear heterosexual? No? Why do you think that might be?

How about Ben Stiller's character in "Meet the Parents"? Rick Schroeder's (sp?) on "Scrubs"?

They were both very heterosexual characters and they were both nurses.

I think the real question here is this: Is the sterotype of gay men as nurses damaging to the profession? I would say that it's not. By claiming that the "gay man as nurse" sterotype is damaging to nursing says more about a person's views on gay people than on anything else. The fact is, there are several portrayals of heterosexual men as nurses in movies and television. Turn on the Discovery Health channel sometime and you'll see lots of male nurses, REAL male nurses. I have to admit, I'm hard pressed to come up with other portrayals of a gay male nurse in popular culture other than "Will and Grace."

kats · Dec 8, 2003

I didn't have a problem with Jack's character being gay at all. I was a bit upset at first at the ease of his entrance to nursing school though. I also realize that those feelings came from the fact that I am wrapping up my pre-reqs and am waiting for news on if I am starting nursing school this January. They are supposed to be sending out letters next week. Nothing like a bit of stress. Not to mention that my final for Chemistry is 30% of the semester grade. Well, back to studying.

mona b RN, BSN, RN · Dec 8, 2003

I didn't have a problem with Jack's character being gay at all. I was a bit upset at first at the ease of his entrance to nursing school though

Yes, this is very true. but I think it goes along with the all around goofy theme of the show. It would be nice to see a show really demonstrate the obstacles and the work that it takes just to get admitted to a nursing program. It seems like the only students you see on tv are overwelmed med students.

However, I do enjoy the show. I wonder if Jack will actually make it through his program. Of course, if he does, he'll be an rn by January:nurse:

mona

Nursemelo · Dec 9, 2003

We where contemplating using Karen's tactics on one of our nursing instructors. hehe!

geekgolightly, BSN, RN · Dec 9, 2003

Originally posted by twarlik
How about Ben Stiller's character in "Meet the Parents"? Rick Schroeder's (sp?) on "Scrubs"?
They were both very heterosexual characters and they were both nurses.

I think the real question here is this: Is the sterotype of gay men as nurses damaging to the profession? I would say that it's not. By claiming that the "gay man as nurse" sterotype is damaging to nursing says more about a person's views on gay people than on anything else. The fact is, there are several portrayals of heterosexual men as nurses in movies and television. Turn on the Discovery Health channel sometime and you'll see lots of male nurses, REAL male nurses. I have to admit, I'm hard pressed to come up with other portrayals of a gay male nurse in popular culture other than "Will and Grace."

agreed

Peeps Mcarthur · Dec 9, 2003

By Twarlik

How about Ben Stiller's character in "Meet the Parents"? Rick Schroeder's (sp?) on "Scrubs"?

Schroeder's character was a great portrayal of a nurse that happens to be male, although his character wasn't around long because it wasn't very funny.

I had forgotten about "Meet the Parents". Ben Stiller's character was ridiculed, much as I was, for even speaking of nursing. I have to say, it made a connection for me. The ridicule that his character was subjected to and the repurcussions of character attacks because of it, were quite entertaining...........................unless you are a male nursing student.

I think the real question here is this: Is the sterotype of gay men as nurses damaging to the profession?

I agree that it's not damaging to the profession but I think my reason is a little different from yours. Of course, a vocation that is 96% female would not have a problem with a gay male steryotype. I'm sure that it is very entertaining for most of the nursing population. Most nurses have never felt this way or even thought of how it feels.

How could it damage a vocation that really doesn't give a crap?

Well, except for an unknown number of the 4% of nursing that is comprised of male heterosexuals that are hurt by it.

I'm not in that group any longer because I've moved on to pursue a career that has no such steryotypes. A profession that is not biased or dominated in its attitudes toward gender. It actualy has its female population increasing. I believe that's because it is not gender biased in its curicculum, philosophy or public perception so females don't feel encumbered by it. It has no steryotypical public perception. If it did, I'm sure the governing body would fight against it.

The problem with nursing is more than something as simple as stereotyping sexual orientation. Nursing is gender dominated but that's not the problem. The problem is its apathy towards supporting males in the profession. Nurses may say "we welcome males into the profession" but actions speak louder than words.

I love the show and I think the actor that portrays him is brilliant, but I am hurt by the dismissal of the impact this has on a dwindling male nursing population. This is not "chest thumping" by a few homophobes. It's a real problem that nursing has yet to recognize because its male population is so insignificant.

geekgolightly, BSN, RN · Dec 9, 2003

Jack is male.... What does it matter if he's gay? Does this mean that he is any less a man?