How Lorna Slater Became a Queer Icon
The 2021 Holyrood election campaign will not be remembered as a particularly joyous one.
Emerging from lockdown restrictions amid frequently erratic weather, the Scottish electorate were once again confronted by familiar political storylines: the constitutionally inflexible Scottish Conservatives asking Unionists to “lend” them their votes; a new Scottish Labour leader unwilling to court pro-independence voters (although perhaps slightly less staunchly than in 2016); and Willie Rennie engaging in progressively more bizarre photo opportunities. But there was one unfamiliar face within the campaign: a co-leader who brought levity to moments where it was lacking. Whose seriousness was coupled with a refreshingly idiosyncratic personality. Even those who do not agree with her politically can admit that Lorna Slater of the Scottish Greens had an impressive first outing on the national stage. Especially, it seems, from the perspective of Scotland’s queer community.
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The links between left-wing politics, environmentalism, and queer people are well documented, with some arguing that this is due to a keener awareness of social inequalities. And so, being the furthest to the left of Scotland’s five main parties, it is perhaps unsurprising that the Scottish Greens are able to garner their vocal support. During this election, however, other factors may have come into play when it came to securing the support of some Scotland’s LGBT+ voters.
While the Alba Party may have failed to gain any seats in Parliament, its lasting legacy may be in vindicating those who left the SNP in January after it was claimed the party was a ‘hub for transphobia in Scotland’. The Alba Women’s movement emboldened a minority of women who felt the reform of the Gender Recognition Act threatened the provision of single-sex spaces and women’s rights more generally (despite nearly all established women’s rights organisations in Scotland concluding that, if implemented correctly, it would not). While official rhetoric coming from Alba was very careful in not mentioning the existence of transgender people in their concerns about the reform, on Twitter the conversation was a great deal less civil: with purposeful misgendering and abuse in abundance (just look at the recent appointment of Mridul Wadhwa as CEO of the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre).
The SNP’s manifesto remains firmly committed to reforming the GRA. But whether the SNP will take Alba’s failure as a decisive rejection of the concerns loudly expressed by Alba Women remains to be seen. These women are, for the most part, former SNP party members and the SNP’s manifesto alluded to their apprehension by stating “It is important that concerns about reforms to gender recognition are addressed through informed and respectful discussion”. Though after two public consultations many trans activists feel as if the time for discussion is over.
The Scottish Greens, on the other hand, have been uncompromising in their support of reform, even at the expense of losing one of their most effective MSPs in Andy Wightman. Their manifesto also promised to officially recognise non-binary identities.
But politics doesn’t occur in a policy vacuum. Personalities matter, as evidenced in equal measure by Nicola Sturgeon’s longevity and the short-lived tenures of Scottish Labour leaders. While Patrick Harvie, the other co-leader of the Scottish Greens and an out and proud bisexual, may seem like the more obvious candidate in appealing to the LGBT+ community, Lorna Slater’s appeal lies in something far more nebulous. Lorna Slater, unlike Patrick Harvie, is camp.
Conducting an entire BBC interview suspended from a trapeze? Camp.
Posting videos of herself on Twitter practicing handstands with dance music blaring in the background? Camp.
Big hair? Camp.
On face value this may seem like a frivolous attribute to endear anyone to a politician. Particularly among gay men, however, the phenomenon of diva worship is a pastime verging on the obsessive. A fan cam of Slater’s media appearances set to ‘Chun-Li’ by Nicki Minaj created by Twitter user @grumpy_twink is both hilarious and powerful. The Scottish Greens have never really had a media darling before and the excitement about Slater becoming a member of the Scottish Parliament is felt across the parties. Her lived experience working in renewable energy will be a valuable asset to Scotland. Combine this with the likeable, relatable embrace of the “anti-seriousness” of a circus performer and the Scottish Greens may have a powerful figure in their midst.
Queer Scots recognise in Lorna Slater the duality of their own lives. Only, instead of diluting the campness of her personality to appear more professional — as many queer people still do — she revels in it. She refuses to hide the parts of herself others might find strange: be it her love of the swinging trapeze or her pet bearded dragon. Her vision for LGBT+ equality in Scotland was apparent both in policy and act; and her presence in the Scottish Parliament is sure to be valuable both for her contributions politically and for what she represents. Mainly that politics is for everyone and that, while serious business, it doesn’t have to be boring.
And indeed that in a Scotland where candidates are accepted regardless of their background or their quirks of character, it never would be.
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