CONSTRUCTION OF THE FEMININE AND MASCULINE: UNDERSTANDING OF A NURSING TEAM

• Main Authors: Laura Ferreira Cortes, Letícia Becker Vieira, Maria Celeste Landerdahl, Stela Maris de Mello Padoin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal do Paraná 2011-06-01
• Series: Cogitare Enfermagem
• Subjects: Nursing; Women’s health; Gender; Professional practice
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.5380/ce.v16i2.20702
• ISSN: 1414-8536; 2176-9133

This qualitative research aimed to analyze the construction of the feminine and the masculine in the care process of 13 female members of a nursing team in a teaching hospital. The semi-structured interview and vignette were applied to the health professionals in September and October 2009. From thematic content analysis, it was understood that the health professionals perceive the biological differences between the sexes but, above all, the social construction of the relations between women and men based in culture, in values, attributes and social conventions. They express that social institutions such as the family and the Church are responsible for the production and reproduction of masculinities and femininities. It stands out that the participants, at times, did not relate this comprehension with the concept of gender, reinforcing the emergence of insertion of such content in the processes of care and training.