A costume designed to be worn by men to portray a babushka-wearing grandmother has been pulled from Wal-Mart and Target websites after complaints it was offensive to the LGBT community, Yahoo News reported Wednesday.
Amazon.com has also apparently pulled the men’s version of the costume, although at time of publication for this story, a similar women’s version of the costume remains on sale, although with only three items left in stock.
Made by a New Jersey-based company named Rasta Imposta, the men’s costume was initially marketed as a “Tranny Granny” design but is now being listed on the company’s website as “Manny Granny,” Yahoo News reported.
Rasta Imposta, a costume wholesaler, does not sell directly to consumers via its website. The “Manny Granny” costume remains available online through retail outlets such as SpiritHalloween.com.
LGBTQNation.com initially reported on the controversy on Tuesday, noting Wal-Mart was selling the controversial design on its website.
While many LGBT activists consider the term “tranny” patently offensive, celebrity drag queen RuPaul sparked a controversy in 2014 with his staunch defense of the acceptability of the term and spirited criticism of detractors whom he considered to be on the “fringe.”
“No, it is not the transsexual community” who are offended by the term “tranny,” RuPaul told podcaster Marc Maron, the Huffington Post reported. “These are fringe people who are looking for story lines to strengthen their identity as victims. That is what we’re dealing with. It’s not the trans community, because most people who are trans have been through hell and high water and they know — they’ve looked behind the curtain at Oz and went, ’Oh, this is all a [expletive] joke. But, some people haven’t. …”
• Ken Shepherd can be reached at kshepherd@washingtontimes.com.
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