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QC Open Forum: The Caitlyn Jenner Halloween Costumes, Right Or Wrong?

With Halloween practically around the corner some people thought it was a good idea to sell a couple of costumes out of Caitlyn Jenner‘s likeness, the news spread quickly and it seems that audiences are divided. The whole incident got us thinking: Are we in the presence of not very-well disguised transphobia or it’s just the expression of a cultural moment?

Trans people have fought for respect and recognition for a very long time and having a high profile figure and a previously established celebrity like Caitlyn Jenner dealing publicly with her sexuality in front of millions of people sort of gave them a hero figure to root for and certainly marked a moment in history, at least in the media, that was bound to be highly debated not to mention made subject of interest for people with a certain kind of humour. Note that we said humour and not ridicule because that’s precisely the line where hate starts to dance closely to this. Take the “simpsonized” parody that artist Alexandro Palombo recently made, he took two cultural markers and combined them to produce humour (with Caitlyn sharing the bed with Homer Simpson) Is this right or wrong? Are there topics off-limits for humour at certain times in history? Back to the costume, the website that was selling it retired without explanations the second one but the other costume (a white swimsuit, a wig and a band with the words “Call me Caitlyn” mimicking the Vanity Fair cover) is still available under their category of “humorous” with a description that reads “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.”

We ask you QC reader, do you think it’s right or wrong to make a Halloween costume out of Caitlyn Jenner’s likeness? Join the debate after the jump and don’t forget to vote on the poll!

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