|
 Jenner, a former Olympic gold medalist and reality TV star
known as Bruce, came out as transgender this year and introduced
herself in a Vanity Fair cover story that earned international
attention.
A change.org petition launched on Monday is demanding that
Spirit Halloween, a costume company with over 1,100 locations in
the United States and Canada, stop producing and selling the
costume, which includes a brunette wig, shiny white padded
bustier and shorts resembling the outfit Jenner wore in the
Vanity Fair cover photo. The petition had about 4,600 signatures
by Tuesday evening.
"Trans is not a costume. Even though Caitlyn is a public figure
and I could understand someone wanting to celebrate her as a
hero and as a public figure, this could definitely take on a
transphobic vibe," Addison Rose Vincent, an activist who started
the petition, said in an interview.
The petition criticized the costume for making light of a
community that faces serious challenges, including violence,
suicide, homelessness and unemployment.
"To make a costume out of a marginalized identity reduces that
person and community to a stereotype for privileged people to
abuse," Vincent, 22, wrote in the petition.
A spokesman for Jenner said she had no comment at this time.
[to top of second column] |
"We create a wide range of costumes that are often based on
celebrities, public figures, heroes and superheroes," Lisa Barr, a
spokeswoman for Spirit Halloween, said in a statement. "Caitlyn
Jenner is all of the above and our Caitlyn-inspired costume reflects
just that."
Barr said the costume would be available online and at Spirit
Halloween stores by the end of September.
A similar costume already is available for pre-order on other retail
websites, including Anytime Costumes and Wholesale Halloween
Costumes. The costume set, which costs $50 to $75 on those sites,
also includes a pageant sash that reads, "Call Me Caitlyn," the
Vanity Fair cover headline.
"You can dress as the softer side of the popular Olympian," the
Anytime Costumes description says.
"You probably won't break any Twitter records when you wear this
outfit like Caitlyn did when she first made her account, but you'll
be sure to get a few laughs out of your friends and the other guests
at the get together," the description says.
(Reporting by Katie Reilly; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Bill
Trott)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
