The cast and crew of the television seriesSherlock have denied that the relationship between the charactersSherlock Holmes (left) andJohn Watson is meant to be seen as romantic, although some fansinterpret it that way. Some critics have described the depiction as queerbaiting.[a]
"Queerbaiting" is a term used to describe certain creative andmarketing practices (often related to a work of fiction) that seemingly hint at, but do not depict,same-sex romance or otherLGBTQ+ representation.[5] A variety of scholars, cultural critics and fans have claimed that these practices are intended to attract ("bait") aqueer orstraight ally audience with the suggestion or possibility of queer relationships and/or queer characters, while not alienatinghomophobic members of the audience orcensors by explicitly portraying those relationships or characters.[6]
Accusations of queerbaiting have been made towards films, television series, books, music, advertisements and other forms of media, but also towards celebrities who express an ambiguous sexual identity through their works and statements.[7] The term arose in and has been popularized through discussions in Internetfandom[8] since the early 2010s.[9] It comes from a larger history of LGBTQ+ discourse in media representation dating back to the 1970s from subtle marketing to LGBTQ+ people through commercials and books.[10][11]
Assessments
Queer audience concerns
Julia Himberg, a professor of film and media studies at Arizona State University, claimed that queer identities have been used and commodified by media producers to convey an "edgy identity".[9]
Fans have derided, for instance, queer characters being used asplot devices rather than as characters for their own sake.Glee, for example, a series with many queer series regulars, was criticized by fans for presenting "superficial stereotypes of queerness for dramatic effect".[12][better source needed]
Queer fans consider queerbaiting as "a way to throw us a bone when we normally wouldn't have anything, to acknowledge that we're there in the audience when the powers that be would prefer to ignore us."[3] Emmet Scout wrote that "queerbaiting works on its audience because it offers the suggestion that queer people do have a vital place in these stories, that they might even be the defining figures, the heroes. The suggestion—but not the reality."[4] Rose Bridges summarized the practice's effect on queer fans as receiving "just enough" representation "to keep us interested, but not enough to satisfy us and make us truly represented."[3]
Critiques
Critics of those who engage in queerbaiting discourse point to its similarity, and perhaps confusion by audiences, withsubtext.[13] Subtext became popular in media, especially in film, during the 1930s due to theHays Code which limited what can be shown on screen. The use of subtext has been a literary ploy to tell a variety of stories since. However, those who engage with modern queerbaiting discourse firmly argue that LGBT representation no longer needs to be in the shadows of media.[13] Instead of adding artistic value, queer fans view this tactic as perpetuating LGBTmarginalization for further capitalization.[citation needed]
Societal shifts
Media scholars such as Eve Ng have noted that audience complaints about queerbaiting parallel the shift towards increasing queer representation in media and pop culture.[9] According to Ng, as representation has increased, so too have expectations for that representation—and frustrations arise when those expectations are not met. She noted that rather than simply being satisfied with any degree of representation, queer audiences want to be represented through"respectful and meaningful depictions."[9] That is why, according to media researcher Julia Himberg, the ambiguous sexuality projected by twentieth-century entertainers such asDavid Bowie,Elton John andMadonna was not scrutinized to the same degree as that of their successors.[9]
Various businesses and corporations, such asStarbucks,Ben & Jerry's, andTylenol have showcased queer people and queer families in advertisements, helping to normalize and increase awareness surrounding the queer community.[14]
Queerbaiting has brought the spending power of the queer community to light, and businesses make economic decisions that promote and support the queer community and its representation that ultimately entices thepink dollar. Terms associated with the queer community, likepink money, have shown the importance of queer people within an economy and a society.[14]
In May 2020, reviewer Sophie Perry, writing for alesbian lifestyle magazine,Curve, noted how queerbaiting has long endured in LGBT representation, noting howShe-Ra andHarley Quinn both had same-sex kisses, happening within stories that could have turned out to be "typical queerbaiting" but did not. Perry added that the "queer conclusion" of theShe-Ra and the Princesses of Power is thanks toND Stevenson, describing it as very different from the conclusion ofThe Legend of Korra, which confirmedKorra andAsami's relationship but left it "purposefully ambiguous" so it could air on a children's network. She concluded by callingShe-Ra and the Princesses of Power culturally significant and added that as more creative queer people come to the fore, inevitably queerbaiting will "become a thing of the past".[15]
In March 2021, a writer forVanity Fair, Joanna Robinson asked when "queer coding" veers into the territory of "queer baiting", withDana Terrace saying it happens a "lot in modernanime", and Robinson saying this is also seen in shows like the end ofSupernatural or the "hubbub around Finn and Poe inThe Rise of Skywalker".[16]
Examples
Companies and brands
Disney has been accused of queerbaiting on several occasions, with Kodi Maier of theUniversity of Hull arguing that "Disney is willing to create animated films and television shows that suggest queer content, but only so long as it doesn’t damage its conservative image."[17][18] The directors ofAvengers: Endgame had spoken in interviews about believing it was "a perfect time" to include queer representation in the franchise, however, it turned out to be a single line said by an unnamed secondary character in the film.[19]The Wrap cited the close friendship betweenPoe Dameron andFinn inStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as one example of queerbaiting.[20]The Rise of Skywalker also faced criticism after directorJ.J. Abrams stated in the promotional press tour for the film that he had included queer representation in the film, but it turned out to be a single shot of a kiss in the background of one scene.[citation needed] A number of other Disney films, including theBeauty and the Beast in 2017 andCruella in 2021 were described by critics forScreenRant andUSA Today as having queer characters but portraying queerness in a way that was either hinted at or a brief background that could easily be missed, asserting that this portrayal indicated that these films were queerbaiting audiences.[21][22]
Fiction
There have been various characters, or relationships between characters of the same sex, which have also been interpreted as examples of queerbaiting by at least some reliable media sources and commentators. This interpretation is not necessarily shared by all critics or fans considering the sensitive nature of the topic.
Reviewers pointed to some animated series as having queerbaiting.Polygon noted that queerbaiting controversy overVoltron: Legendary Defender, between Shiro and Adam, and Keith and Lance was addressed by the series co-creatorJoaquim Dos Santos.[47] Other critics for TheGWW andCBR asserted the seriesNaruto queerbaited between Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki,[48][49]Anime News Network asserted the same between Izetta and Princess Finé inIzetta: The Last Witch.[50] The relationship between Kumiko Ōmae and Reina Kōsaka inSound! Euphonium was described as queerbaiting byFotogramas andAnime News Network.[51][52] In contrast, Christopher Farris and Steve Jones of Anime News Network disputed that the series was queerbaiting was misguided and erased "the concept of bisexuality"[53] and Misty Schultz stated inAnime Feminist the series had "queer subtext".[54]
This contrasted to those series did portray a same-sex relationship after being criticized for queerbaiting.Killing Eve was criticized byThe Independent,Cosmopolitan,The Guardian,CBR, and Meaww for queerbaiting with main characters Eve and Villanelle's relationship during seasons 1 and 2.[55][56][57] The two characters then kissed one another in season 3.[58][59] In the seriesSupernatural, the relationship betweenCastiel andDean Winchester, sometimes referred to under the shipping name "Destiel", was seen as queerbaiting by fans as noted inThe Advocate.[60] In the fifteenth season, Castiel confesses his love to Dean immediately before dying, prompting criticism that the show was playing into the"bury your gays" trope as noted inPolygon andBuzzFeed News.[61][62].
Social media
OnApril Fool's Day 2020, content creators, who were mostly straight men, started to post short videos andchallenges on social media, mostly TikTok andInstagram, lip-syncing towill.i.am's "Boys & Girls" and pretending to come out asbisexual.[63] In 2021, Alpha House influencers were accused of queerbaiting, while other straight web personalities received the same accusations.[64] Some influencers came out after being accused of queerbaiting.[65]Noah Beck was also accused of queerbaiting while he kept confirming his identity as straight.[66]
Many "challenges" or "trends" on TikTok or Instagram were accused of queerbaiting. This includes kissing others of the same gender, posting falsecoming out narratives, or falsely claiming to be in asame-sex relationship.[63][67] Many celebrities, includingBillie Eilish andNormani,[68][69] were accused of queerbaiting for their posts on Instagram.
Although this has been criticised, others have argued that the popularity of this trend is an example of the growing acceptance of LGBT people and (among males) ahomosocial embrace of a "softer" form ofmasculinity.[70]
^Quinn, Kat (November 20, 2018)."Of Marvel and Queerbaiting".Full Circle Cinema.Archived from the original on June 25, 2019. RetrievedFebruary 27, 2012.
Bridges, Elizabeth (June 1, 2018). "A genealogy of queerbaiting: Legal codes, production codes, 'bury your gays' and ' The 100 mess'".The Journal of Fandom Studies.6 (2):115–132.doi:10.1386/jfs.6.2.115_1.ISSN2046-6692.S2CID159000499.
McDermott, Michael (June 1, 2018). "The contest of queerbaiting: Negotiating authenticity in fan–creator interactions".The Journal of Fandom Studies.6 (2):133–144.doi:10.1386/jfs.6.2.133_1.ISSN2046-6692.S2CID158207740.
