Nurse stereotypes
Encyclopedia
The profession of nursing
is stereotyped
. Nurses are commonly expected to be female and so male nurses are stereotyped as effeminate and homosexual. In forms of low humour such as get-well card
s, nurses are commonly portrayed as bimbo
s and, in medical drama
and novel
s, nurses are commonly portrayed as young, female, single, childless and white. Studies have identified several such popular stereotypes including:
. The model nurse in this image was moral, noble and religious, like a devout nun
— chaste and abstemious — rather than an unpleasant witch. Her skills would be practical and her demeanour would be stoic and obedient. Florence Nightingale promoted this image because, at the time, the idea of having female nurses attending the British army fighting the Crimean war
was controversial, being thought immoral and revolutionary.
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
is stereotyped
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
. Nurses are commonly expected to be female and so male nurses are stereotyped as effeminate and homosexual. In forms of low humour such as get-well card
Get-well card
A get-well card is a greeting card which is sent to someone when they are ill. Their use in the case of chronic illness is problematic because the patient may not be expected to recover but they may still offer comfort to the invalid....
s, nurses are commonly portrayed as bimbo
Bimbo
Bimbo, in its popular English language usage, describes a woman who is physically attractive but is perceived to have a low intelligence or poor education. The term can also be used to describe a woman who acts in a sexually promiscuous manner...
s and, in medical drama
Medical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
and novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s, nurses are commonly portrayed as young, female, single, childless and white. Studies have identified several such popular stereotypes including:
- AngelAngelAngels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
, exemplified by the popular accounts of Florence NightingaleFlorence NightingaleFlorence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
— The Lady with the Lamp - Battleaxe or harridanHarridanHarridan may refer to:* Wiktionary's entry: * Tyranid Titans#Harridan...
, exemplified by Nurse RatchedNurse RatchedNurse Mildred Ratched is the primary antagonist from Ken Kesey's 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, as well as the 1975 film. A cold, sociopathic tyrant, Nurse Ratched has become the stereotype of the nurse as a Battleaxe... - BimboBimboBimbo, in its popular English language usage, describes a woman who is physically attractive but is perceived to have a low intelligence or poor education. The term can also be used to describe a woman who acts in a sexually promiscuous manner...
or airheadAirhead (slang)Used typically to describe someone who is stupid, scatterbrained, deficient in judgment, good sense, common sense or lacking intelligence; a fool.-References:***...
, exemplified by Nurse BettyNurse BettyNurse Betty is a 2000 American comedy film directed by Neil LaBute starring Renée Zellweger as a sweet Kansas waitress who undergoes a nervous breakdown after witnessing her husband's murder, and starts obsessively pursuing her favorite soap actor.... - Alcoholic, exemplified by Nurse Sarah GampSarah GampSarah or Sairey Gamp was a nurse in the novel Martin Chuzzlewit, written by Charles Dickens and first published as a serial in 1843–1884. She was dissolute and drunk and became a notorious stereotype of the bad secular nurse in the early Victorian era, before the reforms of campaigners like...
- Stuff up or mistake maker, exemplified by Nurse Greg Focker
- HandmaidenHandmaidenA handmaiden is a female attendant, assistant, domestic worker , or slave.-Religion:Norse goddesses had handmaidens, . The biblical Mary referred to herself as "the handmaid of the Lord" in acceptance of becoming pregnant by the Holy Ghost.A man might use a handmaiden as a concubine to bear his...
— the assistant of a doctorPhysicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, who would be usually stereotyped as male. - Sex symbolSex symbolA sex symbol is a celebrity of either gender, typically an actor, musician, supermodel, teen idol, or sports star, noted for their sex appeal. The term was first used in the mid 1950s in relation to the popularity of certain Hollywood stars, especially Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte...
or nymphomaniac - Torturer
- Woman in WhiteWhite LadyLeucorchestris arenicola is a spider found in the deserts of Namibia. It relies on seismic vibrations for communication. It taps its foremost legs on the sand to send messages to other white lady spiders. Male white lady spiders will travel more than a mile in one night searching for a mate...
Angel
The image of a nurse as a ministering angel was promoted in the 19th century as a counter to the then image of a nurse as a dissolute drunk, exemplified by Dickens' Sarah GampSarah Gamp
Sarah or Sairey Gamp was a nurse in the novel Martin Chuzzlewit, written by Charles Dickens and first published as a serial in 1843–1884. She was dissolute and drunk and became a notorious stereotype of the bad secular nurse in the early Victorian era, before the reforms of campaigners like...
. The model nurse in this image was moral, noble and religious, like a devout nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
— chaste and abstemious — rather than an unpleasant witch. Her skills would be practical and her demeanour would be stoic and obedient. Florence Nightingale promoted this image because, at the time, the idea of having female nurses attending the British army fighting the Crimean war
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
was controversial, being thought immoral and revolutionary.
See also
- History of nursing
- List of fictional nurses
- Nurse paintings