# Why are Nurses "Sexy"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 22, 2008, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185 "2008-05-22T01:12:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/61 "2008-05-23T15:20:17Z")
[QUOTE=Hypno-Toad] Also, nurses in the media are quite often portrayed by sexy or at least attractive actors. [/QUOTE] Like Louise Fletcher and Kathy Bates ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/62 "2008-05-23T15:51:38Z")
[QUOTE=outlierrn] I will not be referred to as a matronly auntie, thank you very much cite [http://www.flickr.com/photos/26870187@N02/2515860660/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/26870187@N02/2515860660/) [/QUOTE] Dayum. We can stop the thread, folks, we have our answer: nurses are “sexy” 'cause nurses are SEXY! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/63 "2008-05-23T16:24:57Z")
Yes but are they sexier than nuns? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/64 "2008-05-23T16:57:27Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] The cap is mostly gone (and thank god–it was ugly, intrusive and dirty). Thing is–the symbol for “nurse” is still that damned cap. [/QUOTE] Until I married a hospital worker (a medical technologist) I never realized nurse’s caps varied subtly, depending on what school they went to. They’re so rarely worn now, it’s hard to tell anymore. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/65 "2008-05-23T17:38:48Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] Like Louise Fletcher and Kathy Bates [/QUOTE] That’s one of the other nursing sterotypes, the cruel matron (an object of frear, not desire). Another stereotype is of course a flamingly gay male. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/66 "2008-05-23T17:41:34Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Dayum. We can stop the thread, folks, we have our answer: nurses are “sexy” 'cause nurses are SEXY! 😃 [/QUOTE] If we could only cobble together the best elements of these threads and posts: The plaid skirts of the catholic school girls, the nurse’s white uniforms, the French maid’s uniform, supervisors calling you “sweetie” at a meeting, discovering internet porn, bar girls in Thailand… @whistlepig: that’s just evil :smack: :eek: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/67 "2008-05-23T18:01:33Z")
[QUOTE=outlierrn] I will not be referred to as a matronly auntie, thank you very much cite [http://www.flickr.com/photos/26870187@N02/2515860660/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/26870187@N02/2515860660/) [/QUOTE] You may be a nurse, but you sure as hell don’t do a thing for me. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/68 "2008-05-23T18:20:09Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] Those whites linked to are ok, but why are the **models** wearing black high heels? Very jarring. [/QUOTE] Operative word bolded. Can you imagine doing a 12 hour shift in those things? _sigh_…I do miss my whites. Still have your pin, **el**? ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/69 "2008-05-23T18:45:17Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] That’s one of the other nursing sterotypes, the cruel matron (an object of frear, not desire). Another stereotype is of course a flamingly gay male. [/QUOTE] The cruel matron has the same root as the sexy caregiver: power. A nurse has so much control over you that a cruel one is very frightening indeed. As for the other stereotype, I was laying on a table in the emergency room while a male nurse shaved me for a femoral IV (for some kind of dye/tracking material injection. I had a pneumothorax and they wanted to see how bad it was.) I was rather out of it due to a headwound. But a day or two later, my dad made some jokes about the limp-wristed “male nurse” (I don’t now if he was an RN or not) who worked there. He found it even funnier when I told him that that guy had been holding my dick out of the way in order to shave me. What a sensitive father. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/70 "2008-05-24T01:40:23Z")
The nurses in Thailand are quite pleasing to the eye, as I’ve posted elsewhere on the Board. Especially in the private hospitals catering to foreigners. Really takes the sting out of a visit to the hospital. This is the only place I’ve routinely seen nurses wearing high heels. Mmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/71 "2008-05-24T02:54:53Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] The nurses in Thailand are quite pleasing to the eye, as I’ve posted elsewhere on the Board. Especially in the private hospitals catering to foreigners. Really takes the sting out of a visit to the hospital. This is the only place I’ve routinely seen nurses wearing high heels. Mmmm. [/QUOTE] Ah, found it. To see what I mean about sexy Thai nurses, see [here](http://2bangkok.com/06/stephff-earlier.shtml), the 13th cartoon from the top. The one labeled: “The Growth of Medical Tourism in Thailand.” ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/72 "2008-05-24T03:10:49Z")
[QUOTE=guizot] They can’t, because nurses are in such short demand. I’d say being a nurse is probably one of the most “hirable” jobs you could have right now in the U.S. And they have unions. I’m still kicking myself for not going to nursing school. [/QUOTE] Only a few have unions. With my question, I was saying that they really couldn’t send any of us home. They could do other punitive measures, though (such as writing you up). I say, if I get to work on time and am clean, professional and neat, it’s none of your business what I wear. ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/73 "2008-05-24T03:49:37Z")
The truth is that the men and women who work with me are smart, focused and helpful. They’re still interested in the human beings that need their skills and steady nerves. Our clothes and hair are neat and clean but in no way overtly sexy. With that said, I’m hearing over my shoulder “It’s the IDEA of a nurse, not a REAL nurse.” This also sounds true. Cyn, RN ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/74 "2008-05-24T12:02:11Z")
[QUOTE=Cyn] The truth is that the men and women who work with me are smart, focused and helpful. They’re still interested in the human beings that need their skills and steady nerves. Our clothes and hair are neat and clean but in no way overtly sexy. [/QUOTE] I’m sure they are. My sister is a nurse. I’ve dated a nurse. I’ve known other nurses. They don’t get a lot of the credit they deserve (I’ve heard) and often get dumped on by doctors. I once had a next-door neighbor who was a psych nurse. She said she told her kids, repeatedly, “Don’t ever come home and tell me you’re going to be a nurse or a teacher.” In her opinion those professions just weren’t worth the hassles these days. From what she said, her hospital was pretty dysfunctional, shit flowing downhill and all that. [QUOTE=Cyn] With that said, I’m hearing over my shoulder “It’s the IDEA of a nurse, not a REAL nurse.” This also sounds true. Cyn, RN [/QUOTE] I’m not sure I’m tracking 100% on this. Given my above paragraph, if you’re saying, “We’re professionals, damn it, not eye candy!” I got it, but I don’t know why you can’t be both. If you’re saying, “An attractive nurse in uniform and an equally attractive model in uniform, it’s all the same,” I disagree. A genuine nurse has knowledge and that’s part of the mystique. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/75 "2008-05-24T15:29:15Z")
I know nurses, I’ve heard stories from nurses. It isn’t a sexy job. I think it’s just seen as sexy cause when you’re stuck in the hospital nurses are your main contact with the gender you sexually desire. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/76 "2008-05-24T15:32:19Z")
[QUOTE=The Tao’s Revenge] I know nurses, I’ve heard stories from nurses. It isn’t a sexy job. I think it’s just seen as sexy cause when you’re stuck in the hospital nurses are your main contact with the gender you sexually desire. [/QUOTE] I’ve dated two nurses. I believe that nurses march to a different drummer for sure. This was also confirmed to ne by a cop I knew in Texas who was married to a nurse. ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/77 "2008-05-24T18:36:04Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] I’ve dated two nurses. I believe that nurses march to a different drummer for sure. This was also confirmed to ne by a cop I knew in Texas who was married to a nurse. [/QUOTE] This made me smile. I’ve said for years that the reason we nurses have few non-nurse friends is that no one else can stand us. I want to be seen as sexy. I want to be seen as eye-candy. But I don’t think I quite acheive that [at work.](http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z76/pitocyn/CYN.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/78 "2008-05-25T00:12:17Z")
I have only one nurse friend–all my friends are non-nurses, so there is that. **Maureen** –I do have my pin, of course. I don’t wear it, but I have it. I was not capped, an edgy move by the university (and thank god, they had a very ugly cap–it looked more like the French parlor maid’s cap, seriously. My mother’s cap from St Vincent’s Diploma school was very nice, though). [QUOTE=lobotomyboy63] I once had a next-door neighbor who was a psych nurse. She said she told her kids, repeatedly, “Don’t ever come home and tell me you’re going to be a nurse or a teacher.” In her opinion those professions just weren’t worth the hassles these days. [/QUOTE] Yup. I wouldn’t mind my kids being a teacher (if they wanted to), but ixnay on the nursing. Put it to you this way: when my mother was in school in the 50s, they were arguing about the entry level requirement. When I was in nsg college in the 80s, they were arguing about the entry level requirement, and now they still are. We are the largest contingent of health care workers, but the least politically powerful. We infight and tear one another down. None of my kids are interested in medicine, so it’s a moot point. It’s a viable career for many and a needed one. I just wish we could actually advocate for ourselves, and not just politically. Sorry for the hijack. I don’t find nurses sexy at all… ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/79 "2008-05-25T02:20:58Z")
I never thought nurses were all that sexy until I learned that I you could get a hand-job by pressing the call button. Sponge baths are pretty cool too even if you just have the flu. ---
**Author:** ![bathsheba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@bathsheba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bathsheba)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185/80 "2008-05-25T03:45:06Z")
[QUOTE=Maureen] _sigh_…I do miss my whites. Still have your pin, **el**? [/QUOTE] Still [whites and pins](http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k289/foraboard/me.jpg) here. I’s like to be seen as eye candy but I scare people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-nurses-sexy/450185.md?page=5)