Protect the Dolls t-shirts raise staggering sum for trans charity
Pedro Pascal. (Getty)
Pedro Pascal. (Getty)
The ‘Protect the Dolls’ t-shirts sported by celebrities including Pedro Pascal and Madonna have raised a whopping six-figures for a transgender charity.
Trans women often use the term ‘dolls’ to affirm their femininity – a usage that originated in 1980s ballroom culture.
The design debuted at Conner Ives‘ Fall 2025 runway show at London Fashion Week in February. Due to high demand, the t-shirt was put on sale, with all proceeds going to Trans Lifeline, a peer support and crisis hotline offering support to trans people in the United States and Canada.
Ives has now shared that in the seven months since sales of the t-shirt have raised more than $600,000 (£445,186.42). Posting an update on Instagram on Saturday (20 September) the designer said the t-shirt had “changed my life.”
In the caption he wrote, “I have never been more proud of my team, the supporters of this wider movement, and the countless people that bought this tee. This t-shirt has changed my life, and I’m hoping it will in due course change so many others.
“In times like these where every day feels more perilous than the last, I am moved by the humanity of this movement and what it has made possible. This is only the beginning. Protect the dolls forever.”
As well as Trans Lifeline, Ives said the money will given out via micro grants to trans people across the US.
Kai Alivar Horton (he/they), the Executive Director of Trans Lifeline, thanked everyone who had bought and shared a t-shirt. “Your generosity and belief that trans people, and most specifically trans femmes and women, deserve to live in a world that protects, celebrates, and resources us, is truly the most hope-inducing gift we can receive as an organization,” they said.
He continued: “Our work is withstanding many political storms, our entirely trans team knows intimately the deep levels of violence and abuse that this political regime is enacting on our communities. Your donation has helped to see a future that securely employs our people during a time of so many systematic attempts to erase us, with your generosity, we can and will sustain.
“There are no words for the gratitude we feel for each of you. Thank you for your solidarity, belief, and hope in our work. Be safe, keep fighting, another world is possible.”
Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has signed a series of anti-LGBTQ+ executive orders, many of which specifically target the trans community.
The president declared that it was the official US policy that there are “only two sexes”, banned trans people from serving in the military, restricted gender-affirming healthcare for transgender men and women under the age 19 and excluded trans women from competing in female sports. He has took aim at diversity, equity and inclusion programmes across the government and in the armed services.
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