Rainbow Trap

Rainbow Trap reveals how the fight for LGBTQ equalities in the UK is shaped – and constrained – by the classifications we encounter every day.

Looking across six systems – the police and the recording of hate crimes; dating apps and digital desire; outness in the film and television industry; borders and LGBTQ asylum seekers; health and fitness activities; and DEI initiatives in the workplace – Rainbow Trap documents how inclusive interventions – such as new legislation, revamped diversity policies and tech fixes – have attempted to bring historically marginalized communities out of the shadows.

Yet, as part of the bargain, LGBTQ people need to locate themselves in an ever-growing list of classifications, categories and labels to 'make sense' to the very systems they are seeking to access. This requirement to be classified catches LGBTQ communities in a rainbow trap. Because when we look beyond the welcoming veneer of inclusive interventions, we uncover sorting processes that determine what LGBTQ lives are valued and what queer futures are possible.

Introduction: Queer Cogs in a Broken System
1. Hate Crimes: Safety, Protection and the Police
2. Dating Apps: Technology and the Curation of Desire
3. Culture: Outness in the Film and Television Industry
4. Borders: Truth, Sameness and the Politics of Evidence
5. Health and Fitness: Markers of Difference and the Body
6. Business: Queer Workers and Money Matters
Conclusion: After Inclusion
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Index