The image of
nurses – that old chestnut or should I say sexy stereotype – has been back in
the news again. A group of well intentioned men dressed up as
nurses to raise money for their local community health trust. But the Trust rejected the £2,500 on the grounds that their actions were
“...wrong, outdated and insulting to the profession”. The fundraiser is an annual event in Ludlow,
Shropshire, raising money for the NHS. I
have some sympathy with the men – they meant well and let’s face it as they
said, this has been going on for 30 years and they’ve not had any
complaints. Oh no. Stop there, something
that’s been going on for 30 years is probably long due an overhaul and the age
old (sorry!) ‘had no complaints’ argument is one that Everyday
Sexism Project and
every woman will be familiar with.
It’s laudable
to raise money for the Trust’s ECG equipment but really, is there any need for
men to dress up as female nurses? There are myriad ways of raising money that
could be just as or possibly more effective. “We’ve always done it this way”,
doesn’t make it right. However, on the other hand my reaction to this
particular sort of drag humour is that it is funny because of how ridiculous
the men look as they deliberately ineptly try to wear women’s clothing. I
object far more to serious television dramas that depict nurses with dresses
just a little too short, or wearing heels; and of course with nothing sensible
to do or intelligent to say.
Rituals and Myths in Nursing will explore some of the traditions behind nursing uniform – it’s
military history reflected in the badges, buckles and starch – as well as
exploring the mythical view of nurses as angels and/or sexual objects.
A recent study by Emeritus Professor of Nursing at Oxford Brookes University, June Girvin and colleagues, explored the
contemporary public perceptions of nursing. It identified four main themes:
1.
Media
portrayal of nursing as a troubled profession
2.
Entertainment
value in demeaning nursing
3.
Role
of incongruity – nursing trusted but not respected
4.
Nursing
roles remain poorly understood
The systematic
review examined papers from January 2010 to September 2015 so at a time of high
profile failures in hospital care, which will no doubt have coloured some of
the reporting. However, the media is fairly negative about nursing depicting it
as a ‘troubled profession’ for example, portraying the move to higher education
negatively. This debate has raged since Florence was a girl as if education is
a ‘bad’ thing for nurses (and in such a female dominated profession, I think, by
implication, women in general). Indeed, schools and parents in the UK do not
encourage students into nursing – they are much more likely to in the US where
nursing has a better profile.
In film and
social media, attractive, successful, intelligent and educated women were seen
as incompatible with nursing.The study found that gender prejudices remain
prevalent in the public image of nursing – female nurses portrayed as sexual
playthings; male nurses still, in the 21st century, characterised as
effeminate.
Despite this
the public generally have a positive perception of nursing but not surprisingly
have little understanding of the complexity and diversity of the role. I think
they are not alone. Nurses are poorly supported in their learning development.
Paying for their own professional development is standard and very often they
attend any educational or training days in their own time. It is a simple step
from here to understanding how easy it is for nurses to be so poorly paid and
why they have seen their jobs downgraded.
This attitude
to nurses, so often served out to teachers too (another female dominated
profession) needs to be challenged. All too often it is dismissed as either
about nurses or about being female and actually it is both those things that
cause nursing to be so badly treated. Challenging stereotypes as Shropshire
community health NHS trust has done is an important public step. It's a shame that the
Royal College of Nursing apparently decided not to comment.
This is where the immense reach it has as a union could have been put
to good effect. Scrap the Cap doesn’t tell enough of the story. The profession
needs to demonstrate strength, depth and challenge on all levels.