Editorial Board

More stories from Spectator Staff

The Spectator Songs
December 14, 2017
Editorial+Board

This Halloween individuals will have the opportunity to dress up as public figure Caitlyn Jenner with the help of costume stores like Spirit Halloween. The company confirmed the ensemble will be available for purchase beginning in September.

Inspired by Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover shoot, the costume features a white corset top and wig. An online petition though is urging Spirit Halloween to stop selling the costume, claiming that it is only further marginalizing an already at-risk group.

“The costume is provoking the disempowerment of a group that is already disempowered” said one staff member.

In addition, critics fear the costume will trivialize the transgender community and reduce Jenner to a stereotype.

Members of The Spectator staff remarked that public figures in some way subject themselves to scrutiny and the costume is nothing more than a way for companies to make money.

In defense of the outcry a spokeswoman for Spirit Halloween said the costume is meant to honor Jenner as each year they produce costumes of heroes, celebrities and public figures alike and Jenner is no different.

Another member of the staff disagrees that while mockery of public figures is common if not expected, it crosses a line to mock something as controversial as the topic of gender identity. The same member believes it may promote more violence regarding the transgender community.

Furthermore, multiple members agreed that the costumes works against real transgender values by welcoming judgment purely based off of looks alone.

One member continued by saying that most transgendered individuals strive for normality and that the nature of Halloween furthers their perpetuation as ‘freaks’.

The Spectator Editorial Board voted 5-2 agreeing the costume should not have been put into distribution.