Sexist stereotypes in portuguese nursing: A historical study in the period 1935 to 1974

摘要

Objective: To identify sexist stereotypes of Portuguese nursing in the period 1935 to 1974. Methods: Historical investigation with a qualitative approach. The session diaries of Portugal's National Assembly and Corporative Chamber were used as a database for this study. Results: The findings configured the following analytical categories: the influence of the Armed Forces on the profession and military nursing, gender as a social formation, and nursing as a female area of work, exploitation of nursing work, gender as social formation and nursing as auxiliary knowledge, and nursing as a priesthood. Conclusions: We assert the need to understand nursing as work, marked by historical and cultural contexts, such that it may be possible to think about paths towards the valorization and social recognition of the work of the nurse.