‘Transphobic:’ Online retailers blasted over Caitlyn Jenner Halloween costume

With all the hype surrounding Caitlyn Jenner, this was only inevitable: There’s now a Halloween costume based off her Internet-breaking Vanity Fair cover.

With a price of $50 to $75, the unisex costume sheer white costume includes a wig styled after Jenner’s hair, shorts and a “pageant sash” that reads “Call Me Caitlyn.”jenner

“The costume is a daring and humorous piece that is something fun for Halloween,” reads a description on Wholesale Costume Club. Other retailers, including well-known Spirit Halloween and AnyTime Costumes, said it’s also planning to sell it.

Even though Halloween isn’t for another 66 days, shoppers are already expressing their outrage on Twitter, blasting the outfit as “transphobic,” “dreadful” and “disgusting.” Here are some of the most heated opinions:

Of course, it’s well-documented how un-politically correct Halloween costumes have been for years and others online have pointed out that this is just this year’s “Sexy Ebola Costume” that also angered people.

Either way, the costume is viewed as offensive to the transgender community who are calling on Spirit Halloween to stop selling it.

Activists have launched a Change.org petition saying Spirit’s profit off the costume “will only lead to greater transphobia and marginalization of an already at-risk community.” It has garnered 1,800 signatures.

That hasn’t seem to deter Spirit from selling it. Lisa Barr, the senior director of marketing at Spirit, told CNBC that it’s a celebration of her and the “costume reflects just that.”

Spirit hasn’t yet answered Digiday’s request for comment about how sales are going. Regardless, the retailer is probably reveling in the attention just as much as Jenner is, albeit for different reasons.

https://digiday.com/?p=132716

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