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Q: What's the big deal about "naughty nurse" images in the media? I mean, no one believes nurses really dress like that!

Christina Aguilera Skechers naughty nurse photoA: The global media's relentless linking of sexual images to the profession of nursing reinforces long-standing stereotypes. Even though those images are often "jokes" or "fantasies," the stereotypes they promote discourage practicing and potential nurses, foster sexual abuse in the workplace, and contribute to a general atmosphere of disrespect. Even humor and fantasy images affect how people act. That's why advertisers spend billions on them. Desexualizing the nursing image is a key part of building the strength the profession needs to overcome the current shortage, which is taking lives worldwide, and to meet the challenges of modern health care.

Nurse Relief lingerie naughty nurse photoMost people probably don't think the average nurse goes to work in lingerie, looking for sex. But the fusing of lingerie with nurses' work uniforms in popular media images, and the exposure of sexy "nurses'" bodies in these images, still associates the profession with sex in the public mind. One recent U.K. study found nursing was the most sexually-fantasized-about job. And suggesting that nurses are primarily sex objects in turn conveys the idea that nursing work consists of satisfying the sexual needs of patients and/or physicians, or at best, that nursing is so unimportant that nurses have the time and energy to focus on sex while supposedly caring for patients. Some people may just regard nurses as being more sexually available than average. We're not kidding: Please read a first person account by a patient who discusses how he overcame some of these ideas and developed a deep appreciation for the nursing profession.

Nurse Naughty lingerie naughty nurse photoOther people may simply see nurses as looking to meet a physician--even an already married one--to take them away from the dead end job of nursing, a stereotype that was actually expressed in late 2004 by Dr. Phil McGraw on his popular television show. When a profession is associated with sex, there is no bright line between "sex" and "romance." This association may be subtly reinforced even in relatively sophisticated products like "ER," which would be unlikely to present a blatant "naughty nurse" image, but in which the lone major nurse character often spends most of her time managing romances with physicians. Thus, even members of the public who don't think nurses actually have sex at work may be influenced to believe that looking for romance is a big part, if not the biggest part, of why they are at work. That is not a feature that is generally associated with serious professionals.

Naughty nurse and other stereotypical images add to the chronic underfunding of nursing research, education and clinical practice. This is because health care decision makers--many of whom are sadly uninformed about what nursing really is--are less likely to devote scarce resources to a profession that has become so degraded in the public consciousness. Such images discourage talented men and women from entering and remaining in the profession. When you combine this lack of respect, the intense college-level training nursing actually requires, and the difficulty and stress of nursing practice, it is no surprise that the profession remains in the midst of a global shortage driven by rampant short-staffing.

Jessica Rabbit naughty nurse pinMany who display stereotypical images of nurses doubt that such images can really harm the nursing profession. However, as public health professionals at the University of Southern California's Hollywood, Health and Society project and elsewhere can attest, popular media items clearly do affect how people think and act with regard to health issues. For instance, a 2000 JWT Communications study found that US youngsters in primary and secondary school got their most striking impression of nursing from the fictional television show "ER," and consistent with that show's physician-centric messages, the youngsters found nursing to be a technical field "like shop," a job reserved for "girls" and one too lowly for private school students. Nursing is none of these things. In addition, a Kaiser Family Foundation study found that "ER"'s message is so influential that one-third of the show's viewers use information from the show to make health care decisions. Please see the research here.

So what's wrong with being perceived as sexy? Nothing--as long as that's not your dominant image in the workplace. Recent research suggests that more sexualized work attire actually lessens respect for female workers in responsible jobs like management, causing others to see them as less competent and intelligent. Of course, the naughty nurse image seems to have little to do with a belief that real nurses are sexy, and perhaps more to do with a desire to have anonymous sex with hotties dressed in lingerie-like "nurse" uniforms. It may be diverting for some to think that nursing is populated by disposable bimbos, which may also help them handle the idea that female nurses have some power over them in clinical settings.

But the disposable bimbo image does not appeal to most career seekers. Nursing remains over 90% female. Of course this sexualized female image is not the only reason, but it is part of an overwhelming social understanding of nursing as "submissive" and "female." This is the difference between sexual images of female nurses and, say, female FBI agents. The FBI is not in crisis because it does intensely demanding mental and physical work that few people really respect, in large part because of the idea that its agents are brainless handmaidens and bimbos. Nursing is.

Of course, it may be hard to see how one apparently minor "naughty nurse" depiction can affect the real world. But each such image is part of a wave of images from the global entertainment, advertising, hospitality, and apparel industries, from Fortune 500 companies to isolated sandwich shops, suggesting nursing is about hot females bestowing sexual favors. In the aggregate, it's just common sense that decades of this kind of broad societal disrespect will have an impact, and will be a factor in people avoiding and leaving that profession. Of course, it's not the only factor; the handmaiden stereotype is probably more damaging because it's more credible and widespread, and nursing would be a difficult, stressful job even if it was well understood.  

Some argue that nursing's poor public image has nothing to do with the nursing crisis, because it's really all about poor working conditions and inadequate faculty resources. But that's like arguing that cancer death has nothing to do with cigarettes, because it's really all about cancer. Many things cause cancer, but cigarettes are one of them. For nursing, the lack of resources was not handed down from some divine place. It was the result of human decisions. Those decisions were made on the basis of what the decision-makers (government, hospital executives, the public) thought about how important nursing was relative to other things they might do with the resources available.

It's also common to see suggestions that objections to the constant association of nursing with sex indicate prudishness or a lack of humor. But the Truth About Nursing has never objected to sexual images generally--only to the use of nursing as a marker for dim, submissive, sexually available females. So this is not about whether sexual images degrade all women, but about their frequent application to a specific professional group. And the suggestion is not just that nurses are silly sluts (ha ha! just joking!), but that their job is about that. Research shows that nurses suffer an inordinate amount of sexual and other abuse at work (see AP and Monster articles). Although it's difficult to prove the extent to which that is caused by naughty nurse stereotyping, that doesn't require that we ignore what would be the obvious results--if a profession is an object of sexual mockery and contempt, it's going to encourage sexual abuse, and the profession is unlikely to receive the human or material resources it needs. If a profession is constantly associated with female sexuality, it's not going to attract and retain many men.

We assume few skeptics would require extensive evidence of ill effects if the media stopped "jokingly" suggesting that nurses were giggling bimbos, and started in on the female family members of the skeptics themselves. Even if the media barrage was "silly" (ha ha! just joking!), would the women in that family be taken as seriously in doing high-stress, life-and-death jobs with extensive public contact? Would they get all the resources they needed? Wouldn't they get more than their share of sexual abuse? Wouldn't they sometimes wish they weren't part of the family? Sure, those close to them might know there was no truth to the media image. But it's not like most in society would know them to be serious professionals. Most would just know what they heard in the media--that the women in that family were kind of a bad sex joke.

The Truth About Nursing takes no position on the prevalence of sexual imagery in modern society. But we do object to the close association of that imagery with a traditionally female profession that must now fight through a critical shortage to keep millions of patients alive and on the road to recovery. In many cases, stereotypes do not simply go away of their own accord--they must be confronted and rejected. And the "naughty nurse" has proven its staying power for decades.

Of course, we realize that sexual fantasies do not go away simply because images become less prevalent, and that deep-seated sexual desires are presumably not subject to anyone's control. Some aspects of current human sexuality may be practically unchangeable, perhaps because they have a strong evolutionary basis, or for some other reason. But we doubt that something as culturally and temporally specific as the "naughty nurse" image of recent decades is biologically predetermined or immutable, at least on a society-wide basis. It seems to us that the image is largely the result of specific cultural information, though it may incorporate some broader elements, such as the eroticism of apparent innocence. What is seen as "sexy" may vary in different contemporary communities, and we're not sure all of them have a special thing for the naughty nurse. And some aspects of human attraction may evolve over time, perhaps in response to changes in the perceived needs of the species. For instance, common standards of human beauty do not appear to be the same today as in past centuries. We think it would be in humanity's long-term interest to start considering new ways to think about nurses.

One could also argue that the work of nurses is so intimate that it will always be subject to some level of sexual fantasy. But the jobs of others that are now subject to this kind of stereotyping (such as flight attendants) do not involve intimate contact. Instead, the common theme seems to be that they are traditionally female jobs that are seen--we said seen--to involve simple personal service. On the other hand, traditionally male professions that may involve intimate contact and/or personal service do not seem to suffer in the same way. People may imagine physicians sexually, but they are not generally presented with revealing images of physicians as silly and available. On the contrary, physicians are often seen as perhaps the ultimate marital prize, and it is hard to imagine the profession suffering from this kind of image in terms of recruiting, retention, or resources.

At ground level, the devaluation of nursing translates into an underpowered profession that may not be strong enough to save your life when you need it to do so. The "naughty nurse" isn't going to catch deadly medication errors, intervene when a patient is about to crash, or teach a patient to survive with a life-threatening condition. It's time for her to change into something a little more comfortable.

Also see our FAQ: But I'm young and hot and I love people to think I'm a sexy nurse! Anyone who objects to the "naughty nurse" image must be a fat old hag nursing leader who hates sex, right?

And our FAQ: Why do you actually display the naughty nurse imagery you object to? Aren't you promoting the same thing you're complaining about?! Ha ha!

Have an event at which you'd like to protest the naughty nurse image? Download our flyer and hand it out to those visiting the event. And please let us know about your protest! Thank you!

 

Please see some (but not all) of the "naughty nurse" campaigns that we have pursued over the years:

October 2014 Subway
Naughty nurse Halloween commercial
Subway naughty nurse commercial
April 2014

Hedley, "Crazy for You"
Music video featuring a naughty nurse

Hedley Crazy for You
January 2014

Nurse 3D
Naughty nurse killer movie

Nurse 3D poster
January 2014 McDonald's Taiwan
Naughty nurse servers
McDonalds Taiwan
March 2011 Hooters
Naughty Nurse Hooky Day commercials
Nurse Ashleigh Hooters Ad
February 2012 Dallas Mavericks Dancers
Naughty nurse routine for the basketball crowd
Dallas Mavericks Dancers
February 2012 Stockholm's South General Hospital, Sweden
Ads using naughty nurse imagery to recruit nurses
hot nurse Stockhoms South General Hospital
September 2011 Whitney
Television pilot featuring main character as a naughty nurse
Naughty nurse Whitney taking care of fallen boyfriend
February 2011 NCIS: Los Angeles
For episode featuring nurse as sexually available
Nurse on NCIS
February 2011 House
"Two Stories" that included plot about naughty nurse
Nurse on House
2011 Silvio Berlusconi
For hosting naughty nurse stripper acts
Silvio Berlusconi
December 2011

The Sun (UK)
"Naughty Nurses Set Pulses Racing" Story with suggestive photos and video about Babes and Boys' "100% Real Nurses 2011" calendar.

Babes Boys 2011
October 2011 Busch Gardens
For daytime, outdoor naughty nurse dancers aimed at families with children
Busch Gardens naughty nurse dancers
November 2010 The Dr. Oz Show
"Have Mercy -- Moves to Lose," featuring woman dressing as naughty nurse to lose weight by dancing.
Dr. Oz dancing
January 2010

Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj
For the video of "Up Out My Face" featuring naughty nurse attire

Mariah Carey
June 2010

Helen Mirren
CBS's Late Show with David Letterman discussing the similarities of nurses and prostitutes while promoting her new movie Love Ranch

Helen Mirren
December 2010

People Magazine
Bret Michaels

Surrounded the Poison singer and reality TV star by naughty nurses.

Bret Michaels--People
March 2010

The Diamond Bus Company (UK)
The West Midlands bus company used a large naughty nurse ad, with a tag line "Ooooh matron!"

Oooh matron
April 2010

Accidentally on Purpose, "Face Off," episode featuring a naughty nurse as nanny

Nicole "baby nurse" Accidentally on Purpose nurse
2010

Heart Attack Grill (Arizona) and Heart Stoppers (Florida)
Legal battle over which had the right to use their anti-health themes, which included waitresses dressed as naughty nurses

Heart Stoppers
May 2010

The Mirage Hotel's Jet's Nightclub Las Vegas
Naughty nurse costume contest

Nurses protesting
October 2009

Virgin Mobile India
For its "Think hatke" (think differently) campaign ad featuring a naughty nurse

Think Hatke
December 2009

MensMax
Michael Dugan, president
naughty nurse video to boost sales

RestoreMax naughty nurse
November 2009 Lung Cancer Alliance
Dr. Lung Love

Video featuring rapping physician singing and dancing with naughty nurses
Dr. Lunglove
March 2009 Mötley Crüe
Using naughty nurses to attract attention at a press conference
Motley Crue
October 2008 Deal or No Deal
Featured the usual decorative female models dressed as naughty nurses
Deal or No Deal naughty nurse
August 2008 Neilson Dairy
Ultimate Recovery Team featuring naughty nurses who would arrive at extreme sporting events to heal injured danger seekers.
Neilson Dairy naughty nurses
April 2008

Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld
Fox News Channel
Naughty nurse comments

Redeye
October 2007 Two Members of the UK Parliament from Sussex
Posing with naughty nurses for a calendar
Members of Parliament
October 2007 Dos Equis
Most Interesting Man in the World commercial featuring two naughty nurses being bench-pressed
Dos Equis
March 2007 Kelly Ripa
For on-air naughty nurse comments
Kelly Ripa
September 2007 Dentyne
For commercial featuring two nurses willing to jump into bed with their patients.
Dentyne
September 2007 Dr. Steve-O
USA network reality show featuring beautiful bombshell nurse Trishelle
naughty nurse Trishelle
April 2007 Baltimore City firefighters
For taking a poll that asked which local hospital had the "hottest" nurses
Laura Vozzella
2006-2007 Gzhelka Vodka
Television commercial featuring a nurse giving IV vodka to her comatose patient to make him aroused so that she could mount and have sex with him.
Gzhelka vodka naughty nurse commercial
October 2006 Schick's Quattro Titanium razor
Print ad featuring an injured male skateboarder in a bed surrounded by three naughty "nurses" giving him "more intensive care."
Schick
October 2006 Lion's Gate and Twisted Pictures
Saw III
Featuring naughty-axe depictions of nursing
Saw III
October 2006 Heart Attack Grill
For dressing its waitresses as naughty nurses
Heart Attack Grill
August 2006 UK men
Nurses are No. 1...in male sexual fantasies
The Age nurse sexual fantasies
December 2005 The Late Show with David Letterman
Featuring a real surgeon expertly removing stitches from Dave's hand while two attractive naughty nurses stood by, giggling.
naughty nurses on David Letterman
September 2005 TAG Body Spray
Television commercial featuring patients who develop "lusty nurse fever."
TAG Body Spray naughty nurse
August 2005 Ralph
Australian magazine featuring naughty nurse cover
Ralph Gianna naughty nurse cover photo
March 2005 Richard Branson
Virgin Mobile

For launching its service using naughty nurses as props
Virgin Mobile naughty nurse
March 2005 Outside magazine
For featuring naughty nurses as "feel better tools "
Outside naughty nurse
January 2005 Bras 'n Things
For selling naughty nurse lingerie
Bras n' Things naughty nurse lingerie
November 2004

Dr. Phil
On-air comments that "cute little nurses" "play footsie" to "seduce and marry them a doctor, because that's their ticket out of having to work as a nurse."

Dr. Phil photo
November 2004 Three Wishes Lingerie Nurse Naughty lingerie naughty nurse photo
October 2004 Mancow, shock jock
Billboard featuring imitation of blink-182's naughty nurse album cover
Mancow naughty nurse billboard blink-182 photo
October 2004 Swedish Institute for Physical Health
Naughty nurse billboard
 
August 2004 Skechers
Christina Aguilera

Print and point of sale advertisements featuring a naughty nurse depiction
Christina Aguilera Skechers naughty nurse photo
May 2004 Disney
Jessica Rabbit naughty nurse pins for Nurses' Day!
Jessica Rabbit naughty nurse pin
January 2004 Jib Jab
Naughty nurse video
JibJab naughty nurse health care photo
September 2004 Radio station Z95.3
Vancouver, Canada
 

 

 


last updated: April 5, 2015


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