Sexuality

This chapter explores how three Scottish Muslim gay men struggle to integrate their sexual and religious identities as they navigate their sexual orientation within an existing condemnatory religious, social and cultural context. The present study illuminates the heterogeneity and diversity of experiences within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population. It further raises the importance of providing a nuanced portrayal of the lives of men, who do not necessarily incorporate Western discourses into making sense of their identity as gay men (Rahman, 2015). The chapter begins by highlighting the very limited research carried out on the lives of gay people in Scotland. This is followed by an overview of the theory of intersectionality in order to understand and situate how sexuality is not a separate entity of one’s identity, but is interconnected to other parts. Adopting an intersectional framework allows us to appreciate how gay men experience different forms of oppression in relation to their race/ethnicity and sexuality in ways that are distinct from their White counterparts and/or heterosexual men (cf. Crenshaw,1996).