The object of this study is the historical struggle of Brazilian nurses for professional institutionalization, in the protuberance of verified ruptures in Brazilian society, given the implantation of the "New State" (Estado Novo). Dictatorship from 1937 to 1945. The objectives of this study were to analyze the implications of the gender question for the professionalization of women and nursing in Brazilian society; to discuss the strategies undertaken by nurses related to the institutionalization of nursing in the context of a dictatorship in the 1930s/40s. The sources of this study were six articles related to the theme and written documents from the Documentation Center of the Anna Nery Nursing School, reviewed from October 1st to December 20th, 2007. The data, classified, contextualized and interpreted according to Pierre Bourdieu, showed that the nursing profession contributed to women's insertion into public spaces previously occupied by men.
Nursing; Women's health; Health; History of nursing; Professional practice