What does it really mean to be ‘included’?
For Kevin Guyan, author of Rainbow Trap: Queer Lives, Classifications and the Dangers of Inclusion, the answer isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. In this chat with Sonia Hadj Said, he unpacks how identity boxes are created, why ticking them often does more harm than good, and what happens when people don’t fit neatly inside them. The conversation moves between critique and hope, showing how so-called ‘box breakers’ might actually point the way toward a fairer future.
For those not deeply involved in the LGBTQ community, what exactly is the ‘Rainbow Trap’?
Kevin Guyan: ‘Rainbow Trap’ is a term I use to describe what happens when a community — in the book I focus on LGBTQ communities — is offered inclusion in a system or institution. That might be being counted in the national census or included in an organisation.
But the promise of inclusion comes with strings attached. Being counted, recognised, seen – it isn’t always as good as it first seems. The trap is that the offer of inclusion comes with conditions.
In the book I look at how LGBTQ communities in Scotland and the UK are included in organisations, systems, and parts of everyday life. We don’t live in a society where these communities are totally excluded. But I argue that inclusion must be thought about critically. Too often it’s framed in very positive language – diversity, equality, opportunity. My book looks at both the positives and the negatives: what we gain, but also what we give up, to be included.
Many job applications now include diversity statements: ‘we welcome applications from…’ Do you think those initiatives are helpful or harmful?
On the surface, they’re good and well-intentioned. They respond to historic exclusions. But it’s healthy to be sceptical: are these initiatives actually bringing marginalised people into organisations, or is it window dressing?
A lot of diversity work is tokenistic. These interventions are based on categories – women, disabled people, communities of colour – and those categories have architects. Someone decides who is in, who is out. That comes with power.
I also critique the ‘more categories’ approach. Many organisations have added more options for gender, sexuality, race, disability on monitoring forms. That’s well-intentioned, but often those categories are collapsed at the back end of the system. You might offer 15 sexualities, but if analysis reduces them to ‘straight’ and ‘not straight,’ you’ve removed people’s ability to define themselves.
Do you think the data people disclose — on gender, sexuality, identity — could actually be used against them?
Absolutely. The boxes we put ourselves into can come back and bite us. When you share that information with your employer or university, you can never be certain how it will be used. You hope it improves equality, but it could be weaponised.
In the book, I include interviews with those at the ‘sharp edge’ of classification. For example, campaigner Christie Elan-Cane, who fights for recognition of non-gendered identities – people who don’t identify with any gender. Even when many options are provided, there still isn’t a box for them. That’s a kind of double erasure: even in an ‘inclusive’ system, you remain unseen.
One of my key takeaways is encouraging a healthy scepticism about disclosure: who you share data with, when, and whether you need to share it at all.
Is it possible to ever design a system that is truly inclusive for LGBTQ communities?
This is the question I get asked most. Unfortunately, the answer is no. There’s no one-size-fits-all model. Categories are here to stay. But we can build systems that are ‘good enough’ – especially for those who fall between the cracks.
In the book’s final chapter, I argue we need to design for ‘box breakers’ – people who don’t fit neatly into existing options. If you build systems that work for them, they’ll work better for everyone, including those who do fit normative categories.
You also write about real-life examples — from travel experiences to hate crimes. How do categories play into those moments?
Categories don’t just work top-down. Individuals can resist: you can refuse a box or put yourself in a different one. And categories are also about perception. Hate crimes, for example, are based on how an attacker perceives you. They may think you’re a gay man, even if you’re not, and act on that perception.
Since finishing the book, I’ve seen even more debate in the UK around sex and gender. Too often, politicians describe these categories as ‘natural’ or ‘common sense.’ Nothing about identity is common sense or natural. It’s shaped by history, culture, and geography. Yet this ‘biology-first’ turn has particularly excluded trans and non-binary people. I hope my book helps readers see how political these definitions really are.
You’re speaking at Curious Festival (Royal Society of Edinburgh’s festival of knowledge). What will you be exploring there?
I’ll be in conversation with campaigner Talat Yaqoob, looking at the politics of categories. Who designs them? Who decides definitions of man, woman, gay, trans? And crucially, who benefits – and who loses – from those decisions?
We’ll also consider intersectionality: does it fix issues around categories, or simply provide a new form of window dressing? For me, the aim is to make these questions accessible beyond academia. Everyone has experienced being put in a box that doesn’t reflect who they are.
Is anything happening in the inclusion world right now, specifically in Scotland relating to the LGBTQ communities that you feel excited or hopeful about?
Definitely. Scotland is an international trailblazer in terms of its approach to data about LGBTQ communities. The 2022 census introduced new questions on sexual orientation and trans status, and there’s a lot of exciting activism and research happening.
Younger people especially – those I describe as ‘box breakers’ – won’t accept narrow binaries. The genie is out of the bottle. As more people define themselves in fluid, nuanced ways, institutions will have to adapt.
I don’t think the old ways of doing diversity and inclusion will survive. Out of today’s political challenges, new systems will emerge that better reflect people’s lived realities. That makes me optimistic.
Finally, what can individuals – no matter what box they belong to – do to change the narrative?
Have a critical eye. When you hear a politician talk about ‘common sense’ or ‘natural,’ ask: common sense for who? Natural for who? Get out of your comfort zone and remind yourself that your own experience isn’t necessarily universal.
If you see diversity work that’s narrow or exclusionary, speak up. Ask: who’s missing, who’s not being counted? That’s a job for everyone, regardless of identity.
Rainbow Trap: Queer Lives, Classifications and the Dangers of Inclusion is out now.
Royal Society of Scotland’s Curious Festival runs 4th till 16th September
Find out more: https://rse.org.uk/curious/
Tickets for Kevin Guyan Caught in a Rainbow Trap at Curious Festvial Saturday, September 13th, 2025 at 6:30pm
Tickets are free but booking is essential
