Trans Kids Deserve Better
" “Trans kids deserve healthcare, dignity and to be treated like human beings. We will fight for that until we have the future we need and deserve. Trans kids deserve better.”
Trans Kids Deserve Better is a group of very brave, strategically savvy and highly creative young trans activists who’ve built a cult community following. They stage conceptual art and live performance protests. Their three demands are to be given equal access to gender-affirming lifecare, to be treated with dignity and to have their voices heard on all matters affecting their lives.
They often wear disguises that they donate to the Museum of Transology. These include the bland office-worker outfit they wore to sneak into the notoriously gender-critical LBG Alliance conference (11/10/2024). They brought proceedings to a close when they set 6000 live crickets free.
At the conclusion of their 7 day occupation of the Department of Education (23 - 30/08/2024), they donated a hoard of snacks left by their supporters to the Outside Project, London’s self-funded LGBTIQ+ Centre, Shelter, Domestic Abuse Refuge and Trans Night Shelter.
Install images
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A3 Sketchbook With Placard Inside 'Trans Kids Deserve Better'
MOT/2024/TKDB/014
Tag An A3 sketchpad with a painting on the first page by an adult supporter at the trans kids deserve better protest at the Department of Education. TKDB/14
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- Collections
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Placard & Banner Collection
- Categories
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Placards
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Dimensions
- Height 310 mm Width 421 mm Depth 5 mm
An A3 sketch pad with a hand painted Trans Kids Deserve Better poster. It features smaller paintings of other placards and scenes from the Department for Education Occupation/Encampment and a blue tardis. With a brown, handwritten luggage tag.
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Carboard Fairy Wings
MOT/2024/TKDB/009
Tag I went to a lecture on trans health- care, where I learnt that taking desogestrel & the birth control pill has a similar effect to estrogen. I went to a sexual health clinic and pretended to be straight so I could get some for my transfemme best friend. I told people at TKDB about it and got nicknamed 'the Oestrogen Fairy'. I was taking a nap and got woken up by sexy lobster telling me to turn around and close my eyes. He tied these wings he'd made to my back and I didn't want to take [continues on rear of tag] them off for the rest of the encampment I wore them.
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- Collection
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Category
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Dimensions
- Height 300 mm Width 160 mm Depth 5 mm
A pair of handmade cardboard fairy wings. They are coloured in blue, white and pink. With some red string and a brown, handwritten luggage tag.
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Deoderant - Insignia
MOT/2024/TKDB/022
Tag Deodorant used on the grates of The Department for Education during the Trans Kids Deserve Better encampment by SpiderTrans, the young activist who heroically climbed the building to prevent the banner being stolen
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- Collection
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Category
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
An Insignia brand roll-on deodorant. the bottle is mushroom shaped with a blue lid and a blue label. With a brown, handwritten luggage tag.
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Empty Tesco Vegetable Samosa Tubs
MOT/2024/TKDB/018
Tag A stack of 8 empty Tesco vegetable samosas that represents one of the main food items that the trans kids deserve better ate on the ledge of the NHS England building.
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- Collection
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Category
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Dimensions
- Height 16 cm Width 16 cm Depth 19 cm
The image shows an empty triangle samosa package with a handwritten note beside it.
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Glasses and Lanyard
MOT/2024/TKDB/029
Tag Disguise worn by TKDB member to LGB Alliance 2024 conference to release crickets in protest to LGBA transphobia. Lanyard, shirt, glasses and lipstick. Disguise worn under the ['name' crossed out] fake name 'Elizabeth Davidson'.
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- Collection
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Category
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
A photograph of a pair of red glasses resting next to a pink name badge which says 'LGB Alliance' with a black lanyard.
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Hair Dye Boxes
MOT/2024/TKDB/028
Tag Blue hairdye used to de-TERF a Crick-Kids hair after the LGB alliance Conference [Formatting Note: There is s scribbled out word before "after"]
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- Collection
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Categories
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Bathroom / Beauty
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Dimensions
- Dimension Description Each Hair dye box Height 310 mm Width 158 mm Depth 5 mm
Two empty, flattened boxes of Schwartzkopf Urban Metallics Blue Mercury hair die. With a brown, handwritten luggage tag.
- Handwritten Speech MOT/2024/TKDB/015
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- Collection
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Categories
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Personal Messages
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Dimensions
- Dimension Description Both sheets Height 297 mm Width 210 mm Depth 1 mm
Two lined sheets of A4 paper with the handwritten text of a speech written in black pen.
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Handwritten Speech
MOT/2024/TKDB/019
Tag A speech I wrote on the last day of the Trans Kids Deserve Better occupation of the Department for Education. I was delirious on exhaustion but I managed to pour out all my love for the beautiful community around the grates, far away from corporate pride. With love and rage, Rusty
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- Collection
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Categories
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Personal Messages
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Dimensions
- Height 297 mm Width 210 mm Depth 1 mm
A sheet of lined A4 paper with the handwritten text of a speech, titled "Rusty end of Action Speech". It is written in black pen and there are flowers drawn around the punch holes in the left margin. With a brown, handwritten luggage tag.
- Jude's Outfit - Wig, Coral Shirt and A Flowery Skirt MOT/2024/TKDB/030
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- Collection
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Categories
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Fashion
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
A placeholder image that is an illuminous green background and the black outline of a tag.
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Large Artwork Showing People Holding Trans Flag
MOT/2024/TKDB/020
Tag A drawing done during the June - July 2024 TKDB occupation of NHS England's ledge roof. The drawing was done in triumph after the police tried to intimidate us to leave and we stood our ground and stayed. The drawing symbolises the triumph of trans power and love over the cops and transphobes.
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- Collection
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Category
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Dimensions
- Height 590 mm Width 840 mm Depth 1 mm
The image shows a ripped and folded piece of paper featuring five abstract figures in blue and pink around a trans pride flag, with blue and pink lines coming from them. There are figures in black around them and a helicopter to the top left..
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Notice To Vacate From DoE
MOT/2024/TKDB/021
Tag The notice to vacate from the TKDB Department for Education encampment. [Formatting Note: There is a crossed out word before the word "Department"]
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- Collection
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Category
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Dimensions
- Height 297 mm Width 210 mm Depth 1 mm
An A4 sheet of paper entitled "NOTICE TO VACATE". It is from the Department for Education to Trans Kids Deserve better.
- Outfit - Mustard Skirt, Chequered Shirt, Jane Rice Lanyard MOT/2024/TKDB/023
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- Collection
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Category
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
A placeholder image that is an illuminous green background and the black outline of a tag.