Out Lesbians in Nursing: What Would Florence Say?

Research and education on lesbian health has increased substantially in quantity and quality in the past 40 years, but little of this work has been produced by nursing scholars. We began our academic nursing careers as out lesbian faculty at the same college of nursing in the late 1980s, where we co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of lesbian studies 2012-01, Vol.16 (1), p.65-75
Main Authors: Randall, Carla E., Eliason, Mickey
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitude of Health Personnel
Attitudes
Collaboration
Education, Nursing - standards
Faculty, Nursing - standards
Female
Gays & lesbians
Homosexuality, Female - psychology
Humans
lesbian health
LGBT health
Nurse's Role
Nurses - psychology
Nurses - standards
Nursing
Nursing education
Nursing Research
Prejudice
Self Disclosure
Social Perception
Societies, Nursing - standards
Stereotyping
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Summary:Research and education on lesbian health has increased substantially in quantity and quality in the past 40 years, but little of this work has been produced by nursing scholars. We began our academic nursing careers as out lesbian faculty at the same college of nursing in the late 1980s, where we collaborated on the earliest studies of attitudes about lesbians in the nursing profession. Our paths diverged in the early 1990s, but we shared similar experiences in nursing education that highlight the structural and attitudinal barriers within nursing that have inhibited lesbian health studies. The deeply imbedded lesbian phobia within nursing has historic roots that plague contemporary research, education, and practice. In this article, we discuss the inclusion of lesbian health in nursing, share some of our personal stories about the obstacles we encountered, and end with suggestions for changing this stifling climate for future generations of lesbian health scholars.
ISSN:1089-4160
1540-3548
DOI:10.1080/10894160.2011.557644