Sexy Halloween Costume Stirs Up Controversy: ‘Border Babe’ Costumes Are Selling Out
Sexy border control agent Halloween costumes are selling out, and President Donald Trump is being blamed for their recent rise in popularity.
Spirit Halloween, one of the largest Halloween costume retailers, has recently come under fire for including a “Border Babe” costume among its thousands of offerings. The controversial costume is a sexed-up version of a border control agent’s uniform, complete with a badge, army green mini dress, and matching hat. It was selling for $40 on the Spirit Halloween website, but is currently sold out.
“Straddle the border between being legally lovely and criminally hot in this Border Babe adult women’s costume,” its description reads.
The Halloween costume is highly rated by customers, with one purchaser praising it as being “sexy and funny.” However, some people aren’t laughing at the getup. Cosmopolitan writes that the costume makes “light of a political climate that has many afraid for their and their family’s lives,” pointing to a story about ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents detaining pregnant women as an example of why the outfit is offensive. As reported by Gothamist, President Donald Trump has demonized undocumented immigrants by calling them “rapists” and using other incendiary rhetoric. His administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigration has even had deadly consequences. According to Rewire, one man was recently murdered after being deported back to Mexico.
While the “Border Babe” costume is currently unavailable, the A.V. Club has discovered a similar Halloween costume for sale on the Spicy Lingerie website. It also includes a short dress and hat, along with a utility belt and an “Agent Norma Swall” nameplate.
Spirit Halloween is also selling “Agent Wall” costumes for men. These have been displayed next to Donald Trump masks in a few of the retailer’s pop-up stores in New York City, likely because the name of the men’s costume is an obvious reference to the “big, beautiful wall” that Trump has insisted Mexico will pay for.
Speaking of which, Allure reported earlier this year that Amazon is selling a “Border Wall” Halloween costume for $29.95. It’s a white bodysuit printed with a brick design and emblazoned with the words, “Mexico will pay!”
“I wore this to Wal-Mart on my weekly stock-up run and got so many compliments, big yuuuuge compliments, more compliments than anyone else has ever had,” read one review of the costume.
Spirit Halloween has released a statement defending its controversial border patrol agent costumes, comparing them to perennial favorites like knockoffs of police and firefighter uniforms. However, the retailer also linked them to Donald Trump.
“As the president continues to drive the headlines and hashtags, we have costumes for everyone to join in on the fun, including: piggybacking on Mr. President, a host of masks that illustrate Trump’s many personas and a presidential BFF Putin mask. We’ve respectfully developed these costumes knowing that Halloween is a time for humor and fun, and due to the overwhelming popularity of these items last year, we think it’ll be a huge hit with our shoppers again!”
The fact that the “Border Babe” Halloween costume is still sold out does seem to back up this claim.
[Featured Image by Helen Sushitskaya/Shutterstock]
