LGBTQ+ History Month: 'Scottish trans pasts, useable and otherwise?'

In Scotland and in many other national contexts, trans people currently face an unprecedented wave of backlash against our bodily autonomy, dignity, and civil and human rights. What stories about trans history do we want to tell in 2026? For whom are we telling them, and to what ends? What, if anything, might a 15-year-old 'female impersonator' from 1870s Glasgow have to say to a middle-aged accordion teacher from 1990s Inverness—or to us? Drawing on overlapping and competing frameworks from the lively academic field of trans history, this talk explores varied ways that we might narrate the trans history of Scotland over the last 150 years. Ultimately, it advocates for critical histories that offer trans people today complex and meaningful resources for building liveable lives in community.