Rainbow Trap: Queer Lives, Classifications and the Dangers of Inclusion

By Kevin Guyan

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1350631639
• ISBN13: 9781350631632
• Release Date: June 2026
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.2" x 1.0" x 6.1"