Nurse Stereotypes
The profession of nursing is stereotyped. Nurses are commonly expected to be female and so male nurses are often stereotyped as effeminate. In forms of low humour such as get-well cards, nurses are commonly portrayed as bimbos and, in medical drama and novels, nurses are commonly portrayed as young, female, single, childless and white. Studies have identified several such popular stereotypes including:
- Angel, exemplified by the popular accounts of Florence Nightingale – The Lady with the Lamp
- Battleaxe or harridan, exemplified by Nurse Ratched
- Bimbo or airhead, exemplified by Nurse Betty
- Alcoholic, exemplified by Nurse Sarah Gamp
- Stuff up or mistake maker, exemplified by Nurse Greg Focker
- Handmaiden – the assistant of a doctor, who would be usually stereotyped as male.
- Sex symbol or nymphomaniac
- Torturer, exemplified by Annie Wilkes
- Woman in White
Read more about Nurse Stereotypes: Angel
Famous quotes containing the words nurse and/or stereotypes:
“Peace,
Dear nurse of arts, plenties, and joyful births.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“There is a striking dichotomy between the behavior of many women in their lives at work and in their lives as mothers. Many of the same women who are battling stereotypes on the job, who are up against unspoken assumptions about the roles of men and women, seem to accept—and in their acceptance seem to reinforce—these roles at home with both their sons and their daughters.”
—Ellen Lewis (20th century)