Wherein Self Adhesive Wrap Induces Flashbacks

The other day, I had to go get some blood drawn.  Because of the bizarre way my medical provider structures itself, the immunology clinic is in the children's wing.  As a result, the latest chapter in my "why-do-I-get-mono-so-often" detective mystery takes place amidst Disney characters, cartoon trains, and primary colors.  It's far cheerier than adult hospital, plus you get to choose a sticker before you leave. 

Anyway, after the phlebotimist works his or her magic, they usually press a little square of gauze against the place where the needle went in and tell you to hold it there for a minute.  Then they wrap it with that self-adhesive rubbery wrap stuff.  But since the office is so child-friendly, instead of having plain old boring beige gauze, they have waaay cooler ones.  Check out the types below:

Specifically, my office had the hearts, the dinosaurs, and the race cars (pink, green, and blue). 

So my own, personal, bearded, honey-haired, thirty-something whippersnapper of a phlebotomist has finished the draw, and I'm dutifully holding the gauze, and next thing I know, he's lassoing my elbow with the pink one.  "Why did you--" I sputtered.  Then I smiled and chuckled.  "Oh, I see," I say.  "Girls get the hearts and boys get the racecars?"

...To which he replied, without irony, "Yep."  Not being able to let it go, I said, "Wait, really?  Blue for boys and pink for girls and green if you run out of either?"  "Yeah," he said again, at this point seeming a little puzzled at my inability to grasp the concept of gendered self-adhesive medical wrap.

"Well, if you would have asked, I'd have preferred the race cars, or even better, the dinosaurs," I said.  I grinned, hoping to convey that I didn't actually give a hoot what was on my arm at the moment, but that he might want to ask kids their preferences.  "It's just like when I was a kid," I continued.  "They gave me the pink, but I wanted the green or the blue."

At this point, he gave me a look that--albeit not the least bit mean--made it clear he had more useful places to be, told me to have a great day, and headed out of the room.  I didn't stop him, but I hope that next time he phlebotomizes a wee one, he thinks twice before slapping on a gender-normative wrap.  Is one wrap a big deal in the context of things?  Of course not.  But these little signals add up.  They are the stuff of society, and they are the stuff of gender normativity.  They are the way, brick by brick, we come to build the beliefs we hold about the way men and women "are."

Yeah, I'm butch enough to sport pink hearts around my left elbow.  But just the same, I made sure to conspicuously choose a big ol' Spiderman sticker on the way out.