Museum alters trans exhibit amid defamation concerns

A museum in the South West of England has removed text accompanying a community exhibition portraying issues faced by trans people after a charity complained it was “defamatory and homophobic”.

The display at Weston Museum included text written by a local artist that accompanied three drawings representing the “damaging effects of discrimination” and urging visitors to “inform themselves of the issues facing trans people….as well as to show that in the waves of hatred they face, trans people are not alone”.

However, a section describing the activist group LGB Alliance as "anti-trans" has drawn complaints from the group, prompting its removal by the museum.

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The original signage accompanying the artwork made a number of comments relating to the LGB Alliance and went on to criticise UK politicians for statements against trans people, the withdrawal of funds from pro-trans charities, and pushing anti-trans policies.

In a post on X, LGB Alliance said that its CEO, Kate Barker, had complained about the text to the museum on the morning of 12 October and thanked the organisation for its “prompt action in removing false and defamatory information about LGB Alliance from their display.”

The same day, Weston Museum posted: “We have removed the text from the artwork on display at Weston Museum”.

The move drew criticism both from people objecting to the text's removal and those who felt the museum should have issued an apology to LGB Alliance.

'Truth matters in museums'

Founded in 2019, LGB Alliance is a gender-critical gay rights group that has described its mission as “asserting the right of lesbians, bisexuals and gay men to define themselves as same-sex attracted”.

Earlier this year, the group won a legal challenge against its charitable status brought by trans youth charity Mermaids.

In a statement to the Daily Mail, an LGB Alliance spokesperson said: “Truth matters in museums.

“Curators who allow a tiny minority of activists to promote extreme, outlandish – and in this case homophobic – views undermine their institution’s reputation and public trust in our shared cultural spaces."

Reservations

Weston Museum is operated by Weston-Super-Mare Council, with support from South West Heritage Trust and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the museum said: "The council had concerns regarding the wording used in conjunction with art that was part of a community exhibition featuring local artists.

"It should be noted that the text accompanying this artwork was authored by the exhibiting artist themselves and not by either the Museum or the South West Heritage Trust.

"The council expressed reservations about the phrasing used, considering it to have political connotations and potentially implicating specific organisations in a manner that could be perceived as defamatory, as a result, the wording was removed."

The Equality Act

The social media backlash experienced by Weston Museum last week comes at a time of concern for arts and cultural organisations about trans inclusive practice in light of recent legal cases.

Leicester University’s Research Centre for Museums and Galleries has said "numerous" cultural organisations have contacted it seeking advice about trans inclusion after case law clarified that gender-critical beliefs are protected under the Equality Act.

The centre published guidance on the issue last month, which was itself subject to subsequent questioning that it was “flawed and unbalanced”, a claim its authors strongly refute.