Young V&A shop to carry LGBTQ+ books

The Young V&A has said it will be adding LGBTQ+ books it deems age-appropriate to its shop. This follows its decision to remove two LGBTQ+ books and a poster supporting transgender rights ahead of the museum's reopening last month.

The decision, which was made by V&A Director Tristram Hunt, was met with a backlash from the museum's union members, as well as artists and commentators online.

In an updated statement, the V&A has said it "unequivocally stands with the trans community – trans rights are human rights – and we want all our museums to be welcoming and inclusive spaces for everyone".

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"We now have a range of age-appropriate LGBTQ+ titles ready to be supplied to the Young V&A shop in the coming weeks and have also identified replacement objects for the Young V&A Design Gallery that highlight trans themes, as planned, which we will soon be installing," the statement reads.

"After summer, our plan is to work closely with educators, specialist organisations, community partners, and our LGBTQ+ network to consider how we present trans and non-binary content that centre children's experience in Young V&A's galleries.

"This is an increasingly important issue for many young people, and we understand our responsibility to curate it with care". 

When asked by Arts Professional, the Young V&A did not elaborate on the process to select the new books, or whether or not the poster that was originally removed will be reinstated.

Amid the initial fallout from the removal of the books, which included criticism from one of the authors, Rowan Ellis, the V&A said the decision was taken as the books had a recommended reading age of 14+, which is above the age of the Young V&A audience (which is 0-14).

The musuem added at the time it would be "exploring alternatives for our target age range".

Union response

A spokesperson for the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union has responded to the museum's updated statement by saying "V&A PCS members are heartened to see the museum's official Twitter account has made positive statements in support of the trans community", adding it "is in line with the strong support for trans rights from V&A staff across the board that we have seen in recent weeks". 

"However, we maintain that the Stonewall poster was appropriate for display and both the books were appropriate for sale. The bookshop has a range of books for all ages, covering topics including domestic violence and murder. Yet only those relating to gender were withdrawn."

They added: "The poster simply stated a point of fact 'Some people are trans'. The fact that the V&A believe that such a statement is controversial means the decision to remove them is inescapably rooted in transphobia. We are clear this was not a 'curatorial decision'. The poster was already on display when it was deliberately removed.

"Indeed there is still a gap on the wall where it belongs. We are also deeply concerned that the museum did not allow LGBTQ+ staff to be supported by their elected trade union representatives in a meeting with the Director about decisions that have directly impacted LGBTQ+ staff. 

“We reiterate our call for the poster to be returned to display and the books to be returned for sale.”