A sociological investigation of internal attitudes within the Edinburgh LGBT community focusing on lesbian, gay and bisexual members attitudes towards those claiming a trans identity.

Abstract

This dissertation is an exploration of attitudes towards the social and political inclusion of trans people in the Edinburgh LGBT community. The extent of this inclusion will be explored from the perspective of lesbian, gay, and bisexual members of the community. Through thematic analysis of data from semi-structured interviews, this research project examines the ways in which attitudes towards trans members of the Edinburgh LGBT community function socially and politically. In doing so, the research reveals the interviewees as supportive of trans inclusion and trans rights, thus, largely contradicting existing findings in the academic literature. However, some intragroup incompatibilities came to light during the analysis, alongside some evidence of divisions and complications within the community in terms of how the ‘gay scene’ is populated by individuals from each identity category.