EVERY YEAR HAS its bad-taste Halloween costume. (Remember Sexy Ebola Nurse?)
And this year’s has already appeared. Step forward, the Unisex Caitlyn Jenner costume.
The costume – sold by at Wholesale Halloween Costumes, with an image of a hairy man wearing it - says it will “make you the top news story of the night”. It reads:
If you want some “Vanity” this Halloween then try wearing the Unisex Call Me Caitlyn Costume.
However, the costume has already sparked a bitter backlash online. A Change.org petition calling for it to be removed from sale has gathered more than a thousand signatures.
The petition - posted by Addison Vincent, who describes herself as a transfeminine activist – says the costume is exploiting transgender identity, adding: “To make a costume out of a marginalized identity reduces that person and community to a stereotype for privileged people to abuse.”
Twitter users have chimed in in support of the petition.
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Spirit Halloween, who are also selling the costume, have argued that the costume is a positive portrayal of Caitlyn Jenner. The company’s marketing head Trish Lombardo told the New York Daily News:
Caitlyn Jenner has proven to be the most important real-life superhero of the year, and Spirit Halloween is proud to carry the costume that celebrates her.
Many, many people are predicting the costume will be popular.
Last month, Caitlyn Jenner made an emotional speech about her transgender identity at the ESPN Awards. She told the audience there:
Trans people deserve something vital, they deserve your respect… If you wanna call me names, make jokes, doubt my intentions, go ahead. Because the reality is, I can take it. But for the thousands of kids out there coming to terms with being true to who they are, they shouldn’t have to take it.
