'United in diversity': resonances of the 'global gay' in EU identity discourses

Recently, LGBTI rights have developed into a symbol for the "core values" of the European Union. This chapter analyzes how the idea of a 'global gay identity' resonates with the EU's motto 'united in diversity'. The motto illustrates the fundamental challenges of European integration of creating a transnational identity that inspires a sense of community among its members while leaving their national identities intact. With the recent rise of nationalism, populism, and Euroscepticism, these challenges have become even more pronounced. As the 'global gay' is imagined as an identity that is fundamentally transnational, solidifies around a common purpose and utopia, and emphasizes practices of solidarity, the 'global gay' citizen could potentially figure as a 'model European citizen'.