Young V&A: Children's museum criticised for removing trans poster from display

The Young V&A, formerly the V&A Museum of Childhood, recently re-opened after a revamp

The Young V&A museum has been urged to reinstall a pro-trans rights poster after being criticised for removing it.

The poster, reading "Some people are trans, get over it", had been part of a display at the newly revamped museum.

It was taken down just before the east London site was re-opened - a move described as a "red flag" by author Rowan Ellis.

The V&A said the decision was "complex" and "not intended to be exclusionary".

The museum, which is aimed at children under 14, said the poster was among "several" items which had been cut from an exhibition about the use of graphic design as a campaign tool.

• New V&A children's museum opens after revamp

A spokesperson said the decision had been taken by its "senior team" and was "part of a wider programme that we are developing on how we present gallery content in a more considered and inclusive way for 0-14-year-olds".

They said two trans-inclusive books had also been removed from the museum's shop before the re-opening of the Bethnal Green site because they were aimed at children aged 14 and over, which is above the age of the Young V&A audience.

The author of one, Rowan Ellis, said she could "understand" that decision, but the removal of the poster was a "red flag".

Stonewall's gay rights poster (left) remains in the exhibition, but its equivalent trans rights poster (right) has been removed

The Here and Queer author told the BBC she believed the decision was "absolutely" transphobic and she could not see "any other reason" why it would be removed.

"It's not controversial," she said. "It is a simple poster that says that trans people exist and if that is going to be removed, then how can we expect to have the type of inclusion the V&A says it stands for?

"Children are not incapable of understanding that trans people exist."

The V&A has confirmed that while the transgender poster produced by the LGBTQ+ rights organisation Stonewall was removed, the charity's equivalent gay poster remains part of the display.

Ms Ellis, who is also an advocate for LGBTQ+ education, said she found that decision "tricky".

"They think that there is something fundamentally different about that conversation in a display for young people - they think it's more adult, more controversial, more complex, so they wanted to remove it," she said.

Rowan Ellis's book Here and Queer has been removed from the Young V&A's bookshop

Robbie de Santos, a spokesman for Stonewall, said: "It simply shouldn't be controversial to be saying some people are trans."

He added that it was "worrying to see free expression being clamped down on".

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union said it was working with the Prospect trade union and the V&A LGBTQ+ working group to persuade the museum's leaders to reverse its decision.

A spokesperson for the V&A said: "Before Young V&A - our new museum for children - opened to the public, we made the complex decision to remove several objects, covering a range of contemporary topics, from a display about how design is used as a creative tool to campaign for different causes.

"This decision was not intended to be exclusionary, and we do recognise the concerns that this has caused.

"We know that these are important topics, and our decision was taken as part of a wider programme that we are developing on how we present gallery content in a more considered and inclusive way for 0-14-year-olds at Young V&A.

"In the weeks ahead, we will be partnering with young people, educators and academics, as well as V&A colleagues including our LGBTQIA+ network to help shape this work."

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