After landing on headlines following her brave revelations on her gender, Caitlyn Jenner has become even more popular for championing the rights of transgender people — a proof of her popularity is the decision of a retailer to make a Halloween costume inspired by her this year.
The Daily Mail reported that the idea was raised by Spirit Halloween, a popular company in the United States known to make quality costumes across the country.
The decision could ignite debates because it seems that Spirit Halloween is trying to depict that the former Olympian is simply a costume that people may wear during a fun event.
The retailer's public relations staff Trisha Lombardo however, as reported by Daily Mail, was quoted in an interview saying, "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."
Spirit Halloween has not shared the details of the costume, but it said the merchandise will be on sale in the next few weeks.
The retailer has a long history in the production of costumers, particularly controversial ones. Some of the costumes that the company has produced include the Native American outfits that were deemed insensitive by many.
Vincent Vullano of the National Center for Transgender Equality issued a statement expressing dismay over this plan to make a costume after Jenner. In a statement to Huffington published in Advocate.com, he said: "There's no tasteful way to 'celebrate' Caitlyn Jenner or respect transgender people this way on the one night of the year when people use their most twisted imaginations to pretend to be villains and monsters."
Jason Brow of Hollywood Life also expressed disappoint on the issue. He said that even if the details of the supposed costume have not been shared to the public, it does not matter. The idea of making a costume out of Jenner in itself is making it appear that the person is a joke. He added, "Cait is a role model for many in the trans community, and her high-profile debut has forced many to talk about trans people for the first time. And if someone wants to dress up as Caitlyn in tribute to her, I think it's okay so long as they're respectful and sensitive to what Caitlyn has been through. But, I think trans people, like ethnicities, are not really source material for a Halloween costume."
Meanwhile, Jenner's camp has refused to issue a comment as of writing.