“Nurse?”

Just a little observational something on gender and Halloween costumes having to do with actually wearing them on Halloween:

I decided to be a wearer of a bloody lab coat. I wound up buying a large children’s costume because the adult lab/doctor coat was enormous, designed for a very tall, very broad-chested man. The children’s coat had a little cross on it, so… Doctor, not evil scientist. Close enough. I went nuts with the paint and was ready to go.

It’s interesting how some people seemed to not be sure whether or not to call me "Doctor" or "Nurse" or whether I was a killer or the victim. Why would the wearer of the white lab coat be the victim anyway? I suppose bloody handprints to suggest struggle didn’t come out as clearly as I’d hoped, but I’d have thought the copious amounts on the sleeves near the hands would have given a hint. I tried to pull a little crazy murderer act ("Costume? What costume?" "I hope you’re not…. stealing.") on my store’s undercover person and he didn’t get it and accused me of racial profiling. A little too deadpan, I guess?

Later, I attended an event where a certain little boy was struggling to figure out what I was (seated at a table, low lighting). "Wait, I see the cross! You’re a doctor!"

And then he gave it a second of thought and corrected himself. "Nurse! You’re a nurse!"

"’Nurse?’" I said, shamelessly appropriating a movie quote, "I didn’t go to Evil Medical School to be a Nurse!"