Send a letter to The Sun

Send a letter to The Sun Editor Rebecca Wade to urge an end of their promotion of naughty nurse images


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Message:*	Dear Ms. Wade: I am writing to ask you to reconsider your use of the "naughty nurse" imagery featured in the "Real Nurses" pictorial on November 28 and 29. This kind of imagery reinforces a deep stereotype of workplace sexuality. That inhibits nurses' ability to get the resources they need to resolve the global nursing crisis. The feature you ran aggressively exploits naughty nurse stereotypes. This is not about sexual imagery in general. The problem here is the constant association of the profession of nursing with sex, especially a kind of dimwitted sexual availability at work. Your feature shows the "nurses" stripping out of racy versions of nurse uniforms, apparently in actual health care facilities. There's little mystery why a recent survey found that nursing was the most sexually-fantasized-about job in the U.K. The apparent use of actual nurses does not absolve the Sun of responsibility. Even if some nurses are willing to reinforce stereotypes of their own profession, the paper should not promote enduring stereotypes that are helping to cause social harm. The decision of a few nurses to present themselves this way does not mean the stereotype is correct or benign, any more than the decision of a member of any other disempowered group to reinforce a stereotype would. I realize the pictorial was "a bit of a laugh," but public health research shows that even media images with comic intent influence the way people think and act with regard to health care. The unparalleled naughty nurse stereotype discourages practicing and potential nurses, encourages sexual violence in the workplace, and contributes to a general atmosphere of disrespect that weakens nurses' claims to adequate resources. That in turn exacerbates the global nursing shortage, a public health crisis that is killing thousands of people. The shortage is so damaging because, contrary to their popular image, nurses are highly skilled professionals who use their college-level educations to save lives and improve patient outcomes every day. Thank you for considering my concerns.
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