July 2024

The Lavender Menace in Edinburgh refers to an influential LGBT+ bookshop that operated from 1982 to 1986. Founded by Sigrid Nielsen and Bob Orr, it was Scotland’s first lesbian and gay bookshop, situated at 11a Forth Street. It provided a safe space and resource for LGBT+ literature and hosted various community events and discussions, fostering a sense of community during a time when homosexuality had only recently been decriminalized in Scotland (1980)​ (Wikipedia)​​ (Lavender Menace)​.

The shop evolved from a bookstall at the Fire Island gay disco and quickly became a vital hub for the LGBT+ community in Edinburgh and beyond. It sold books through mail order to reach those isolated by geography and lack of public transport. Despite facing challenges such as customs seizures of their stock, Lavender Menace persisted in its mission to provide access to queer literature and support the community​ (Wikipedia)​​ (Lavender Menace)​.

After its closure, the spirit of Lavender Menace was revived in 2019 as the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive. This initiative aims to preserve and celebrate queer literary history, operating as a blog and pop-up bookshop that hosts events and maintains a digital catalogue of rare and out-of-print LGBT+ books​ (Lavender Menace)​​ (Lavender Menace)​.

www.lavendermenace.org.uk

www.instagram.com/lavender_menace_returns