Anti-Prom Paper Dolls

a trans person with short hair and scars from a top surgery, a black person using a wheelchair

Two dresses in medium and large sizes, both of a party dress with a peacock motif

a high fashion garment with a lace-up corset and skirt, next to a traditional Indian sari

Two shelves on the wall hold completed paper dolls.

Cut, color, and customize 26 pages of body-positive and gender-expansive dolls and garments.

The Anti-Prom Paper Dolls were created by Christine Wong Yap and contributors and are available as a supplement to Kindling: Activities to Spark Joy and Belonging Gathered from Around the World.

Unlike historic paper dolls, which are typically White, cis female, slim, and without visible disabilities, the dolls here are of various races, genders, and sizes, and include people who use wheelchairs. They can be customized with diverse hair textures and styles, and wear designs by students at the High School for Fashion Industries in New York City and by college students in Bangalore, India.

Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Download the PDF below (5.7 MB).

Caption: Christine Wong Yap and contributors, Anti-Prom Paper Dolls, 2023, social practice, drawing, 8.5 x 11 inches.

Developed Christine Wong Yap as the artist-in-residence at large in Mindscapes, the Wellcome Trust’s international cultural program about mental health. Exhibited in Holding at Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA from March 22 to April 29, 2023.