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The study focuses on locally situated interactions between men and women and among men. The main focus is on how men in nursing practice constitute their identities. The aim of the disserta-tion is to understand the meaning of gender, particularly the constitution of masculinities, in the formation of identity for men in nursing.

Theoretical points of departure were post-structuralist and masculinity theories. Within the theoretical framework, processes of gender should be seen as activities that are relational and integrated in ongoing organisational life, in this case, in the nursing context.

My methodological approach was qualitative, based on ethnography. Techniques used for data collection were following observations and interviews. I followed seven men in their daily work in two hospital environments, one emergency department and a department in elder care (sheltered housing).

The gender order was maintained by rewards to medical and technical knowledge and skills. The phenomenon of”gender dizziness” was manifested through interaction and became visible through the men’s practice. Different positions of masculinities co-operated and the physicality of the body was important in performing masculinities. Hegemonic positions of masculinities are maintained and other positions are subordinated. Homosociality creates influence and power in social relations, and it was obvious that the informants in these organisations found ways to keep together, in spite of their different positions in the organisation.

Some of the informants cross over the border and perform ideals that are not traditional for men in nursing. In the nursing environment these men’s identities show a caring attitude. The stereotype, connected to heteronormative ways of thinking, plays an important role for men in constructing their identities in the nursing context. A central conclusion in this study is that sexuality order put strong pressure on identity formation and the construction of masculinities for men in nursing.