Queer in a Wee Place - Small Nations, Sexuality and Scotland by Yvette Taylor

Queer in a Wee Place explores identity, inequality and belonging in animated conversations about how queerness moves through place – and how place, in turn, shapes queer lives. Building on interdisciplinary sexualities scholarship, activism, creative practices, as well as legislative and cultural critique, this open access book examines the past, present and future imaginings of queerness in Scotland, as a ‘wee place’. With cases covering law, policies, cultural institutions, education, and everyday life, this collection offers an in-depth analysis of Scottish queer experience, showing how ‘wee places’ reflect and inflect global dynamics – revealing tensions between national pride, visibility and exclusion.

Scotland’s national claims about being world-leading in the advancement of LGBTQ+ rights often re-invoke a global hierarchy of places to be queer. The under-resourcing of and backlash against equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and colliding legislation such as hate crime laws and the UK Supreme Court ruling, expose a more complicated truth.