Running head: SOCIAL MEDIA AND NURSING 1

Nursing Image Stereotypes and Portraying Nurses as Sex Objects

Abeer Manea 10138483

University of Calgary in Qatar

NURS 405

Carolyn Wolsey

January 22, 2017

SOCIAL MEDIA AND NURSING 2

Nursing Image Stereotypes and Portraying Nurses as Sex Objects

Over the past three years as a nursing student, I have learnt the public image regarding

nurses and nursing profession. The nursing image is one of the most challenging issues

confronting nurses, ranging from the sexual stereotypes to the angel of mercy. The general

impression of the public describes nurses as doctors handmaidens, feminine profession, and

naughty nurses. All those perceptions were mentioned in social media and T.V shows and those

methods were the key role in portraying the misconception of nursing (Weaver, Salamonson,

Koch, & Jackson, 2013). It is well-known that the public image sometimes is based on inaccurate

overall understanding and does not match the nurses professional image. Nurses performance

in hospitals is affected negatively because the peoples impression does not fulfill nurses

satisfaction. Therefore, in this paper, I will discuss few things; first, I will provide detailed

description of a picture I got from the instagram that view nursing negatively. Secondly, how I

find this picture and what it means to me. Thirdly, how that picture affects me and how I will

refute the image in daily nursing practice and in the future as a practicing nurse.

The picture I got was posted in instagram by someone who likes posting jokes and sexual

attractive. In the search bar I wrote nursing and the picture which I chose came first.

Unfortunately, the picture presented nurses and nursing negatively. It consisted from two main

reflective components text and image of a cartoon nurse. The background was black the text was

in the right side and the cartoon nurse was in the left. The text was heaRD uR Feelin UNDeR

the weatHeR, THouGHt ID seND a NuRse to Help U Feel BETTER!!!, when I first read the

text, it seemed positive and representative about what we as nurses usually do which is helping

others. The integration of the text and the image was sexually presented. Half of the sentence

colored by green the second half was colored by red. The language used on the picture attempted
SOCIAL MEDIA AND NURSING 3

to sexually arouse the person who receives the picture. The text was written in big font size and

the second half of the text was diagonal.

The white skin cartoon nurse portrayed sexually attractive. She was wearing white short

mid-thigh dress opened buttons and half of her breast was exposed. She placed her left hand on

her waist with holding green folder and on her right hand she was holding the stethoscope which

was connected to her ears. She was wearing a white headband with Red Cross and her hair was

little bet messy. The nurses waist was well-defined and her facial expressions were seductive.

So in the picture, nurses were viewed as sex objects, consequently; nursing profession would be

associated with sexuality and that will spread the idea that nurses or nursing focus on sex.

I find the picture annoying because it represents nurses as a sex symbol. These kinds of

pictures in social media and T.V influence how people develop an image about nursing (Calvo-

Calvo, 2014). Although there have been efforts to reject and reform the image of nursing the

public still have that inaccurate perception about nursing. The evidence was the picture I

described earlier, it was created in 2016. So the image of the naughty nurse still exists. I feel

disappointed about how people think about nursing. I find the image insulting to an extreme

extent because as high qualified nurse respect should be received from patients. As stated in

Calvo-Calvo (2014) nurses are at high risk for sexual harassment and the reason behind that is

the public image of the naughty nurse.

It is important to me as nursing student to be known as professional as I expect. From my

personal perceptive, I came from decent family who follows Islamic and traditional beliefs and

values and as a nursing student, the image of the naughty nurse affect how I feel about myself,

because while I am providing care to male patients thinking about how they believe about me as

a nurse is important. Working with patients who believe that my focus is sexuality, makes me
SOCIAL MEDIA AND NURSING 4

underestimate my profession as a nurse. Additionally, it makes me feel insecure and affects me

from cultural perspective how my family and culture see me. As an Arabic traditional girl

reputation is extremely important it is the basic thing about who you are.

Refuting the negative image about nurses and nursing and portraying nurses as sex

objects should be done collaboratively between nurses and nursing students. As a nursing

student, my goal is to act professionally and advocate in favor of my patients in clinical hours.

Therefore, patients will start to change the idea of what nurses can do. Also, spreading the

awareness about nurses role in many fields will reveal the reality of nurses to the public. Using

social media applications such as Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook by creating accounts that

supports and illustrates the major role of nurses is another effective way to overcome the

negativism regarding nursing. In the future as a practicing nurse, I should be confident, reliable,

powerful, and critically thinking nurse. All those characteristics will give me the power to

impose myself as the person who is all in all. Moreover, nurses should get paid higher the

increase in salaries of nurses will encourage the public to respect and value nurses. According to

Toode, Routasalo, Helminen, and Suominen (2015) low salaries for nurses created negative

public image and lead to lack of desire to join nursing, as a result; hospitals suffers from nurses

shortage. But the major factors are the social media and T.V which are capturing the biggest

audience using these methods to enhance the power of nurses would be the watershed for

nursing. For example, making a movie or serial that talk about nursing like Greys anatomy or

ER, but instead of focusing on physicians and doctors the main focus will be nurses. Thus, the

serial or movie will refute the misconceptions and stereotypes about nursing.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND NURSING 5

References

Calvo-Calvo, M. . (2014). Sexist stereotypes and biases associated with the female nursing

model in advertising communication. Texto & Contexto-Enfermagem, 23(3), 530-

537.doi: 10.1590/0104-07072014004120012

Toode, K., Routasalo, P., Helminen, M., & Suominen, T. (2015). Hospital nurses' work

motivation. Scandinavian journal of caring sciences, 29(2), 248-257. doi:

10.1111/scs.12155

Weaver, R., Salamonson, Y., Koch, J., & Jackson, D. (2013). Nursing on television: student

perceptions of television's role in public image, recruitment and education. Journal of

advanced nursing, 69(12), 2635-2643.doi: 10.1111/jan.12148