Alongside new acquisitions, artefacts that have been donated to the collection over the last decade by thousands of members of the community make up the rest of the exhibition. Everything from shaving cream and socks to lipstick and testosterone – material culture that reflects trans, non-binary and intersex lives. Each object is adorned with a handwritten note explaining the significance of the object to the donor’s personal experience of gender; testimonies that ensure trans, non-binary an intersex people’s lived experiences are recorded in their own words.
Divided into themes including fashion, healthcare and beauty, transology, family, pride and protest, the collection has been designed by Scar Barclay to affirm the museums mission to “halt the erasure of trans lives from history, to tackle the misrepresentation of trans people in the political sphere” from all angles. This mass of memories, and medical ephemera commemorating private gender milestones alongside hundreds of protest placards from mass public rallies, including Black Trans Lives Matter, sews together the legacy of the museum and its powerful collective voice.
Hundreds of community curators have been involved in the making of the show – just a portion of the 3,000 artefacts the collection holds in total are on display. The project continues to use archiving and collecting of community stories as an important counterpoint to harmful transphobic discourse: “I hope visitors to the exhibition learn from the real-life, everyday stories about trans life, told by trans people… Stories that cut through the harmful disinformation that surrounds us”, E-J concludes. “I hope from what they learn that they feel just how urgent it is to stop the violence, to stop the transphobia.”
The exhibition is running until 11 May 2025 at The Museum of Transology, Lethaby Gallery, Central Saint Martins 1 Granary Square, London.