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
MOT/2024/TKDB/025
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Outfit Of A Chequered Blouse, Reading Glasses, Lipstick, Elizabeth Davidson Lanyard
MOT/2024/TKDB/025
Tag My disguise worn to infiltrate the 2024 LGB Alliance Conference and release crickets. We stopped the conference and put out foot down at their horrific and destructive transphobia.
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- Collection
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Category
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
A pair of tortoiseshell glasses, a Rimmel lipstick and a brown, handwritten luggage tag.
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Outfit Of A Floral Skirt, Purple Shirt, Nina Josephs lanyard
MOT/2024/TKDB/027
Tag To sneak into the LGB Alliance conference 2024 I went on a charity shop trawl with my friend and channelled my 14 year old self/a devout Christian in a cult. I taped 3 bags full of 1,000 crickets to my legs in St. James Park and pretended to have a stoma bag so we could get through the airport style security and a guard walked a friend and I to the accessible bathroom so we could transfer them to our bags ready to release in the QEII centre to stop Jamie Reed speaking.
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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.
- Outfit: White Shirt, Grey Skirt MOT/2024/TKDB/024
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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.
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Pair Of Climbing Shoes and A Hoodie
MOT/2024/TKDB/017
Tag Trainers and a hoodie worn by 'Spider trans' during his ascent of the Department for Education to prevent ............... our banner [Formatting Note: Unable to make out words between "prevent" and "our"]
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- Collection
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Categories
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Fashion
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
A pair of Five Ten climbing shoes. The uppers are green and brown suede and they have red laces.
- Placard 'We Won't Forget His Name' MOT/2024/TKDB/031
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- Collections
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Placard & Banner Collection
- Categories
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Placards
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
A cardboard placard with handwritten memorial about a person's activism and remembrance.
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Placard - Come Off Friday 6pm
MOT/2024/TKDB/001
Tag A placard noting advertising the event for the end of the Trans Kids Deserve Better occupation of the Department for Education
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- Collections
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Placard & Banner Collection
- Categories
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Placards
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Dimensions
- Height 67 cm Width 72 cm
A hand drawn cardboard Trans Kids Deserve Better placard with text "COME OFF FRIDAY 6PM - SPEECHES COMMUNITY POWER" in blue, white, pink, black and yellow text. It also features the silhouette of a pawn and a megaphone.
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Placard - DragShow Department For Education 7pm
MOT/2024/TKDB/002
Tag The drag show at the Trans Kids Deserve Better Encampment was such a beautiful community moment. Many TKDB activists made drag debuts and some established drag artists who joined said it was their favourite gig ever. love and rage [indistinct word]
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- Collections
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Placard & Banner Collection
- Categories
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Placards
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Dimensions
- Height 450 mm Width 760 mm Depth 5 mm
A hand drawn cardboard placard advertising a Drag Show a the Department for Education organised by Trans Kids Deserve Better. With a brown, handwritten luggage tag.
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Placard - Honk If You Support Trans Kids
MOT/2024/TKDB/004
Tag Placard used on D of E occupation + held while standing at the side of the road while handing out leaflets so cars and the 8 bus honked and cyclists rang their bells [or peered interestedly or shouted slurs]. [Formatting Note: There is a scribble before the "8"]
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- Collections
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Placard & Banner Collection
- Categories
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Placards
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Dimensions
- Height 470 mm Width 660 mm Depth 3 mm
A hand painted cardboard placard, made from two pieces of card stuck together. Features the text "HONK IF YOU SUPPORT TRANS KIDS" in black, with "TRANS" colored blue, pink and white.
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Placard - I'm Just As Real As You
MOT/2024/TKDB/003
Tag TKDB/003 Placard that was brought to the Trans Kids Deserve Better occupat-ion of the Department of Educ-ation and stuck to one of the windows.
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- Collections
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Placard & Banner Collection
- Categories
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Placards
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Dimensions
- Height 50 cm Width 65 cm Depth 5 cm
A hand painted cardboard placard in the trans flag colours and the text "IM JUST AS REAL AS YOU"
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Placard - Trans Youth Need Safe School
MOT/2024/TKDB/006
Tag 'Trans Youth Need Safe Schools' Placard made for the D of E occup- ation, displayed in one of the grates for the whole week.
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- Collections
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Placard & Banner Collection
- Categories
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Placards
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Dimensions
- Height 420 mm Width 300 mm Depth 5 mm
Hand painted, white, cardboard placard reads: "TRANS YOUTH NEED SAGE SCHOOL" in red, blue and silver
![Handwritten cardboard placard reads: "TRANS. AUTISTIC. NOT CONFUSED," ["NOT" is double underlined] with colorful symbols. Decorated with a sticker, a rainbow colored infinity symbol and the trans flag. With a brown, handwritten luggage tag.](https://d3f1jyudfg58oi.cloudfront.net/15395/image/8505c430-2513-11f1-95db-71fe3c6e973f-vfvVnpU.tn@2x.jpg)
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Placard - Trans. Autistic. Not Confused.
MOT/2024/TKDB/005
Tag Placard from the Trans Kids Deserve Better occupation of the Department for education. So often, neurodivergent trans people have our trans experience invalidated but we are here, we know ourselves and we are NOT CONFUSED [Formatting note; "NOT CONFUSED" is double underlined.]
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- Collections
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Placard & Banner Collection
- Categories
- Trans Kids Deserve Better, Placards
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Dimensions
- Height 570 mm Width 410 mm
![Handwritten cardboard placard reads: "TRANS. AUTISTIC. NOT CONFUSED," ["NOT" is double underlined] with colorful symbols. Decorated with a sticker, a rainbow colored infinity symbol and the trans flag. With a brown, handwritten luggage tag.](https://d8e7jbdw4fu0e.cloudfront.net/15395/8505c430-2513-11f1-95db-71fe3c6e973f-vfZiDS7.lg@2x.jpg)
Handwritten cardboard placard reads: "TRANS. AUTISTIC. NOT CONFUSED," ["NOT" is double underlined] with colorful symbols. Decorated with a sticker, a rainbow colored infinity symbol and the trans flag. With a brown, handwritten luggage tag.
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Signed Cardboard Drawing Of A Purple Bra
MOT/2024/TKDB/010
Tag [Tag 1 of 2] A drawing of a purple bra, as worn over a lobster costume during the drag show when Trans Kids Deserve Better occupied the Department for Education. It was later signed by activists, supporters, and the DfE security, [Tag 2 of 2] "Sexy lobster" drag act cardboard boobs with signatures from TKDB
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- Collection
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Category
- Trans Kids Deserve Better
- Place
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Dimensions
- Height 145 mm Width 320 mm
A drawing of a light purple bra, with darker purple spots, on a piece of brown cardboard. It has been signed my many different people. With two brown, handwritten luggage tags.