Feminism has been misinterpreted by society to represent masculine women who hold no respect for men. Feminism, however, can be defined as: “a concern with action, political or personal, the struggle for equality; valuing the individual, respect for the individual; and [having] an awareness or consciousness of oppression which may be experienced by women directly or men vicariously through women’s experiences” (Allan, 1993). According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the true goal of feminism is not for women to have more power than men, but to eliminate sexism and for society to express equality for everyone (Haslanger & Tuana, 2004). Historically, feminism and nursing have not been interrelated, however, the integration of the ideals of feminism into nursing could change the negative image of nursing to the public.
To fully understand nursing as a profession, a person must understand its history. The first nurses were men, but this gender dominance gradually shifted. Because of this shift, nursing was not viewed as a profession because it was, and oftentimes still is, viewed as “women’s work” (Sullivan, 2002). Because of lack of funding for nursing education and apathy directed toward the oppression of nurses by male doctors, by the 1930s, nurses had been reduced to acting as aides to men (Groups & Roberts, 2001).
Nurse with baby and male doctor (Wagner, 1927)
Due to the subjugation of their position by men and the fear of being stereotyped as uncaring feminists, many nurses chose not to participate in the feminist movements of the 1960s (Hunt, 1998). Feminists, however, have “overlooked the achievements of nurses, reinforcing society's stereotypical views and devaluing of nurses' work […as] women’s work” (Hunt, 1998, 19).
Feminists may have ignored nursing because it appeared to perpetuate the stereotype of the subservient woman, but in the present day, a feminist perspective in the workplace would deconstruct the “popular characterizations of the nurse as a sexpot or as hard-nosed and uncaring’” (Sullivan, 2002). This prejudice contributes significantly to the “disproportionate number of men in administrative and elite specialty positions” (Evans, 1996). These negative connotations, however, lead not only to the disrepute of female nurses, but of men who are in the profession as well (Sullivan, 2002). Male nurses are presented as overly feminine, homosexual, or as underachievers, and are discriminated against in the workplace.
Nurses of different specialties at work (Staff Nurse Interest Group, 2007)
The health care system could benefit from using a feminist approach, to promote the equality of genders. Nursing would be able encourage more men to join the profession if these gender stereotypes were absent. Thus, we would have twice as many students applying to nursing schools, while gaining more respect from society as a whole (Christman. 2001).
Men and Women working together will benefit the future of nursing. (Direct Diagnostic Services, 2008)
Feminism at its core, benefits both genders in society as well as in nursing. The expansion of the feminist perspective, which is slowly gaining relevance in the field of nursing, would help to reform the pervasive image in popular culture of incompetence within nursing by showing that whether or not it is a profession that is female-dominated, nursing is a legitimate and important job. Although feminist nurses have made great strides in improving the status of women and promoting equality, future nurses must continue to promote a feminist philosophy.
For further reading, please visit:
Feminism and Women's Studies: http://feminism.eserver.org/
Womens Media: http://www.womensmedia.com/
Nursing and Midwifery in the Middle age UCLA SON blog: http://ccle.ucla.edu/mod/resource/view.php?id=6903
Image of Nursing in Popular Culture UCLA SON blog: http://ccle.ucla.edu/mod/resource/view.php?id=7077
Men in Nurisng UCLA SON blog: http://ccle.ucla.edu/mod/resource/view.php?id=6879
Males in Nurisng UCLA SON blog: http://malesinnursing.blogspot.com/
LGBT in Nursing UCLA SON blog: http://myn20bloglgbt.blogspot.com/
References
Allan H.T. (1993) Feminism: A concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 18, 1547–1553.
Christman, L. (2001). Insights and inquiry. Journal of Professional Nursing, 17, 3.
Group, T.M. & Roberts, J.I. (2001). Nursing, physician control, and the medical monopoly.
Haslanger, S. & Tuana, N. (2004). Topics in Feminism. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 28.
Hunt, J. (1998). Feminism and Nursing. The Nursing Monograph. 17-22.
Sullivan, E.J. (2002). Nursing and feminism: An uneasy alliance. Journal of Professional Nursing, 18, 183-184
