Contradictions and Tensions: Exploring Relations of Masculinities in the Numerically Female-Dominated Nursing Profession

Abstract

The feminization of nursing constitutes a significant barrier to men choosing to enter nursing, and in part accounts for the low numbers of men in the profession. Men who choose non-traditional occupations such as nursing are at greater risk than their women counterparts of being unsupported, devalued, and even ridiculed for engaging in gender-inappropriate behavior. For the small number of men who defy prevailing gender norms by engaging in this work, the perception of a spoiled masculinity reflects the gendered and sexed relations within the profession. Men nurses are faced with the reality of defending their career choice, their contribution to nursing, and their sexuality. As a consequence, men who do nursing work are continually reminded that they are different from other men. The experience of eight men registered nurses in Nova Scotia, Canada, reveals the tensions and contradictions of men's lives in a non-traditional occupation.