Caring: A gendered concept

The concept of caring has been explored in a variety of ways in both feminist academic literature and in the professional nursing journals. In this study of first-year nursing students the focus was on why they decided to enter nursing as a career, their experience of clinical placments and their vi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Women's studies international forum 1997-07, Vol.20 (4), p.529-536
Main Authors: Poole, Marilyn, Isaacs, Dallas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Australia
Caregivers
Caring
Concepts
Families & family life
Gender
Gender differences
Gender roles
Human body
Men
Mothers
Nurses
Nursing
Nurturance
Occupational Choice
Occupational Roles
Sex Differences
Sexuality
Students
United Kingdom
Women
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Summary:The concept of caring has been explored in a variety of ways in both feminist academic literature and in the professional nursing journals. In this study of first-year nursing students the focus was on why they decided to enter nursing as a career, their experience of clinical placments and their views on gender equity. Many of the female students responded in terms of “caring for others” and “the desire to help people,” the males responded in terms of career prospects. Starting with the viewpoint that caring is “both love and labour,” this study analyses concepts of caring as a reflection of discursive practices relating to notions of the family and motherhood. Other discourses identified as available to the students were those relating to the body, body care, and sexuality and those that centred on their roles as women or men.
ISSN:0277-5395
1879-243X
DOI:10.1016/S0277-5395(97)00041-1