Arts & Entertainment
Caitlyn Jenner costume outrages transgender groups
The outfit recreates the former Olympian’s 1976 uniform
A Caitlyn Jenner costume for sale on Amazon has sparked outrage in transgender groups who call the costume transphobic.The costume is titled “Bruce Caitlyn Jenner Olympian I Am Cait Adult Costume” and is modeled from Jenner’s winning uniform from the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Pieces from the costume include a Jersey tank featuring Jenner’s 935 number, blue shorts, a brunette wig and two plastic “Olympic” medals.
“Show your love for Caitlyn Jenner with this awesome adult costume,” reads the product’s description.
Jane Hamlin, president of transgender support group the Beaumont Society, called the item “transphobic” in a statement obtained by Yahoo News.
“I am astonished that a transphobic costume mocking Caitlyn Jenner is being marketed in the way it is. It is completely tasteless,” Hamlin said.“The transgender community has been getting quite a battering in the media recently because we would like to have autonomy over our own identities. We have become accustomed to insensitive mockery, but had hoped that cisgender people had become tired of such stunts and realized that it is not funny.No one chooses to be trans. It is the way we are born, it is who we are.”
Transgender charity Stonewall also criticized the costume and asked for it to be “taken off the shelves.”
“This is a reminder of how much is left to do to combat the abuse trans people face every day. This costume reduces a marginalized group to the butt of a joke,” a spokesperson said.
eBay did also sell the costume but after facing backlash online, the website removed it.
According to TMZ, Costume Agent, the costume’s manufacturer, refuses to pull the item. A rep said “It’s a costume. It’s funny.”
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PHOTOS: Fredericksburg Pride March and Festival
LGBTQ celebration held in historic Virginia town
The sixth annual Fredericksburg Pride March was held in downtown Fredericksburg, Va. on Saturday, June 27. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chair Deuntay Diggs led the march alongside Fredericksburg City Council Member Jannan W. Holmes. The Fredericksburg Pride Festival took place at Riverfront Park after the march. Bree Fram was the featured speaker.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
The second annual Frederick Pride Parade was held in the streets of downtown Frederick, Md. on Friday, June 26.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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