Nursing Students’ Perception about Gender Inequalities Presented on Social Networks: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, gender inequalities in nurses have been exacerbated through the images shown on social networks. This study aimed to explore and describe nursing students’ experiences and perceptions about gender inequalities in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive qualitative study was carried out in two universities in 264 undergraduate nursing students. The photovoice method was used to guide the study. Results: Two main categories and four subcategories were described from the data: “gender-related stereotypes”, with “male leadership in a female profession” and “sexualization of female nurses” and “women’s vulnerability in the pandemic” with “the gender gap in the face of increased risk of contagion “ and “women’s emotional fragility”. Over the years, care has been considered a female task, and nursing continues to be thought of in this way. The nurse has been discriminated against, poorly considered as a professional, and, as a woman, subjected to gender roles.

Investigating the Prevalence of Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Nursing students’ gender, GPA, type of university where they were enrolled, academic level, and age didn’t predict the social media searches, inconsistent with Mrayyan et al (2022) , who reported that most of these demographics precited internet addiction among nursing students. Male nursing students in this study spend more time checking social media, which is similar to the findings of Andina-Diaz et al (2023) . Despite nursing being a female-dominated profession, men dominate its social media.…”

Cuidar para descuidar, confrontar, arrepiar: negatividade como crítica do estereótipo da “cuidadora natural” na enfermagem

“…O descuidar enquanto crítica discursiva imanente procura as contradições semânticas dos discursos por meio da negação de afirmações prefixadas, provocando a inadequação das características da coisa com o falso rótulo recebido. No âmbito das práticas da enfermagem, não precisamos de muito esforço para constatar que o cotidiano de enfermeiras e técnicas sofre os reverses opressivos da suposta benevolência do cuidar, haja vista as sobrecargas de trabalho, os baixos salários (sobretudo na assistência, onde o imaginário da "cuidadora natural" prevalece), a dificuldade de emprego ou discriminações interseccionais, dantes discutidas (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17) .…”

“…Da mesma forma, verificamos a reedição da "cuidadora natural" na formação, mesmo em iniciativas que visam questionar os estereótipos. Um estudo em que a sexualização das enfermeiras, a liderança masculina, a fragilidade emocional e o cuidado como atributo feminino foram identificadas nas "visões da sociedade" por estudantes, as reflexões acerca da nossa contraparte na manutenção dessas estereótipos de gênero passaram ao largo das reflexões (12) .…”

Caring to deny, confront, shiver: negativity as a critique of the “natural caregiver” stereotype in nursing

“…Deny as an immanent discursive criticism seeks the semantic contradictions of discourses through denial of prefixed statements, causing thing characteristic inadequacy with the false label received. Within the scope of nursing practices, we do not need much effort to see that nurses' and technicians' daily lives suffer from the oppressive reverses of the supposed benevolence of care, due to work overload, low wages (especially in care, where the "natural caregiver's" imagination prevails), difficulty of employment or intersectional discrimination previously discussed (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17) .…”

“…Likewise, we saw the "natural caregiver" re-edition in training, even in initiatives that aim to question stereotypes. A study in which sexualization of nurses, male leadership, emotional fragility and care as a feminine attribute were identified in the "views of society" by students showed that reflections about our counterpart in maintaining these gender stereotypes went beyond reflections (12) .…”