Sadly Gay Male Nurse Stereotype is Not Just Trolls

ignorance is endemic to this country...
and remains the #1 chronic illness, with remediation being a long, arduous journey.

willful ignorance (which is resistant to intervention) however, is not only chronic, but malignant.
no hope for these folks.
we can only pray that as more men enter nsg, it will become a norm, where no one will think twice about a gender-associated profession.

you are right in that trolls aren't the only ones that sing the ignorant blues.
but as i encourage to everyone:
just keep on being who you are...
and do so with pride and self-respect.
that is the best cure for this dismal disorder.

so for all the guys, and gays and everyone inbetween...

leslie

I understand where your coming from, I posted on on that thread and I did not criticize the OP but instead provided support and helpful advice. I think that even if people thought he was a troll who really cares? Its another chance to correct a stereotype that still exists in this world.

!Chris

Hey... go for nursing... don't go and look what others said.. be your self. And what? If others tell about you that you are gay and you are not, they are stupid and ignorants in them stupidity. I saw gays really beuatifull "pink" or not and i saw people playing "gay" just to be cool or take advantage, but what I saw always was THE NURSE in front of all of them and yes a nurse is a nurse dosen't matter what.

If you are not gay and you fell nursing all in all dosen't matter what others said about you, you BE YOURSELF, welcome!
If you are gay, looool, hey, nursing love gays and gays love nursing, welcome!

Don't let others to put you down! Go to be a nurse, a good one!

One of my sons chose to go to nursing school after he graduated from high school. Shortly after his first year, he got sick at work one nite. So sick that his boss took him to the ER. I got there, and decided he was having a panic attack. They couldn't find anything else wrong. There was a male nurse on duty who asked me if I minded if he talked to him. He spent 30 min with him, and the symptoms disappeared. The nurse told me that students at school were making fun of my son for being in nursing school, calling him every name you can think of. And it was a parochial school....just seems like that should make a difference, but guess not. He'd been trying to ignore them, until finally he just got sick. It made him feel so much better to see and talk to a male nurse who was not homosexual. He continued on for another semester, but then just had enough of it. He has since joined the air force. It is unfortunate. He is exceptionally bright, very compassionate and caring. He would have made a great nurse. He wanted to work in pediatrics.

But for the record, I have had 2 male nurses work for me in the past who were homosexual. They were so good, and we were fortunate to have them here. I had a male aide who was murdered recently because he was homosexual. We were devastated. None of us cared that he was homosexual. The person who killed him has no idea what he took from us, or just doesn't care.

Wow. That last post is very sad. I live in Chattanooga, Tennessee and there are some strong stereotypes here. I am one of those guys with the spikey hair, works out, and likes sandals and pink on occasion. Most of my guy friends dont understand the whole nursing as well as the male members of my family(Maybe they should be taking notes because I always get the women)Especially older folks around here. Whenever I get asked what I am in school for I usually get blank stares of confusion. It doesnt bother me most times but on occasion it cuts a little. I would say here in the south the stereotype is very common

I am not a troll. (OK, I know there are some posters who would disagree with that, but after over two thousand posts, it seems clear that I am not a troll!)

The gay male nurse stereotype exists, like most stereotypes, because there is some basis in truth. Thirty some years ago, the only male nurses I had ever met were either gay or pretending not to be gay. There were the former monks and priests who went to nursing school when they left the religious life, and there were the gay men who introduced me to their "roommates" and when they invited me over, gave tours of their one bedroom apartments with only one bed. There was the male nurse who pretended to date me so people wouldn't know he was gay, and there was the gay male nurse who married a former nun to cover up HIS preferences. Things started to change in the early 80s. More and more straight men went into nursing and now, I think, if straight men don't outnumber they gay men by a majority, it doesn't matter. After all -- someone's sexual preference is their own affair (so to speak) and no one needs to know or care about it other than the partner of their choice or someone who wishes to become the partner of their choice. But I have no difficulty at all understanding why someone near my age or older would continue to carry that stereotype. It may be ignorant NOW, but it was at one time true.

Sadly, our society still tends to discriminate against those who are "different". I'd like to see a day when everyone can marry the partner of their choice regardless of gender and when one's sexual preference is just one more charactoristic that makes them who they are. And I'm looking forward to the day when a "male nurse" is just a nurse.

You know what shocks me most about this conversation, is that in a class of 80, we have 2 openly gay males, and at least 10 times that many openly heterosexual nurses. For the life of me, I can't see why it should matter, as long as boundaries are respected, and quality care is delivered. Of course, there will be some patients who will request another nurse, but that goes for the ESL nurses, the African-American nurses, and the foreign nurses as well, and it is to the detrement of the patient that their ignorance does not allow them to see past the race, color, or orientation of that person. For example, in our class, one of our openly gay males is one I would absolutely trust with my life in a hairy situation. He is that cool, composed, and knowledgable. So, again, ignorance in America is the #1 problem we are facing, the #2 problem being that there is no acknowledgement of the fact that the ignorance is a problem. I was raised in a religion that taught that homosexuality was a sin, yet when I first met a homosexual person decades ago, I couldn't help but see the wonderful gifts and attributes this person had to give to the world, in spite of my religious upbringing.

I don't understand, and never will, the hatred that brings someone to kill another because they are different. I say the more male nurses the better, sexual orientation notwithstanding. They are competent, smart, fun, and every bit as deserving of the opportunitieis as everyone else who wants to be a nurse.

I have also noticed a few of the hetero males in our class mentioning that they took harassment from others saying "why don't you just go to medical school?" Well, these people don't understand that nursing offers more opportunities, better and different patheways to get to different jobs, and overall, is just a more flexible career option. Plus, there is the patient interaction, which none of them would trade for anything--they are all wonderful.

I try to explain this, as I am a female, but still get the "but you're so smart--you should have gone to medical school" I try to tell them that brains have nothing to do with it, it is what you want out of life, and the type of career you want-patient-focused with lots of patient interaction, or lots of responsibility but little contact. Many people don't get this, taking their medical career info from TV shows. Well, they deserve what they get.

Any male who goes into nursing is smarter than any male who goes into medicine, in my opinion--more career opportunities, more career flexibility, and lots of respect from the women, because lord knows we need some Y chromosomes to delete the estrogen!

I am all for males in nursing. I wish there were more, and I advocate to anyone who shows the slightest bit of interest about the perks, the various career paths, the flexibility, and the many, many things you can do with a nursing degree, as well as the graduate programs to pursue.

GO XY!!!!!!!Those who give you trouble are just compensating for their own insecurities about their own penis size and/or sexual orientation. Just my opinion after lots of years of dealing with men with SPS (short penis syndrome), and the IMNG (I'm Not Gay- really) syndrome.

Go men, don't let the losers stand in your way. The profession needs you to bring us to order, bring us a common voice and a common purpose, so that we can organize ourselves for better working conditions, standardized working conditions, etc. Without you, there's just too much estrogen, and no offence to my fellow sisters, we just need the cool, detached decision-making of a male to help us in these times of change!

I realized I just focused on homosexual males, but the same goes for homosexual females--should make no difference. I would be proud to work by any competent homosexual nurse, female, male, transgender, etc. The focus is on competency and work ethic. Personally, I could care less about your personal predilicetions, as long as they are not illegal (child molestation, for example), and as long as they don't interfere with your job, and you are happy. I consider you all my friends, colleagues, and am proud to know you.

Thanks for reading,

A Pro-Gay Mormon nurse

Is it that "ugly" and "unpleasant"? Maybe we need to look at ourselves and how we react to the stereotype. Reacting with defensive homophobia isn't going to help us.

One of my male friends who is a nurse is about as far from gay as you can get. And when your a young man vastly outnumbered by women in your workplace there is a lot of opportunities if you catch my drift