In trying to attract prospective nurses and also contain traditional femininity, several less positive images emerged from the OWI's orchestrated newsreels. These reoccurring themes contrasted drastically to the representations of men. Men are almost always active in the newsreels. Male soldiers are engaged in battle, training or setting up equipment. There are almost no instances where nurses are working.
Men are almost always active in the newsreels.
In comparison, nurses arrive in a chauffeured jeep, smiling and wearing pristine white clothing. At a time when there is an immediate need for nurses, the newsreels make the nurses appear undedicated, a giggly untrained lot. Women's work is also negated and disqualified in newsreels that emphasize nurses in training. The voice-over commentary suggests their hard exercises are mere play or, at the very least a slight distraction from their vacation. Images that might diverge from traditional femininity were juxtaposed and undermined by representations of female silliness, and weakness in will power, to reinforce societal gender norms.