Mapping Queer Scotland, with Dr Jeffrey Meek, Glasgow University.

If Glasgow’s Walls Could Talk

In this episode we talk about Scottish LGBTQ+ history and places, and how queer stories are researched and interpreted.

Today, LGBTQ+ people in Scotland can marry, adopt children and pursue wonderful careers. Political leaders and public figures can openly identify as gay or bisexual, and Scotland recently topped two European league tables measuring legal protections offered to LGBTQ+ people. But this is all very recent, and Scotland only decriminalised gay sex between consenting men in 1980.

Queer spaces such as bars, pubs, bookshops, squares and parks therefore play a very important role in queer history. But how can we research and collect queer stories and what sort of traces did past queer people leave behind?

We explore this topic with Dr. Jeffrey Meek, Lecturer in Economic and Social History at Glasgow University and Founder and Curator of QueerScotland, a fascinating website and research tool showcasing historical maps of queer places and spaces in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee and across the wider Central Belt.

Keep an eye on our website glasgowheritage.org.uk, join us on social media @GlasgowHeritage and follow #IfGlasgowsWallsCouldTalk

This podcast was produced by Inner Ear for Glasgow City Heritage Trust.

This podcast is kindly sponsored by the National Trust for Scotland and supported by Tunnock’s.