Queerbaiting

Queerbaiting is a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment[6] in which creators hint at, but then do not actually depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ representation.[7] They do so to attract ("bait") a queer or straight ally audience with the suggestion of relationships or characters that appeal to them,[8] while at the same time attempting to avoid alienating other consumers.[6][9]

The cast and crew of Sherlock have consistently denied that the relationship between the titular detective and his flatmate are intended to be seen as romantic, but critics have called the depiction queerbaiting.[1][2][3][4][5]

Queerbaiting has been observed in popular fiction such as films and television series, as well as in celebrities who convey an ambiguous sexual identity through their works and statements.[6] It arose in and has been popularized through discussions in Internet fandom[10] since the early 2010s.[11]

Additionally, queerbaiting is a form of taunting hopeful queer audiences only to reject any queer implications between characters.[12] While suggesting that queer undertones exist, queer audiences are exploited through erroneous representation and consequently harmed further.[13]

Assessments

Queer audience concerns

Queerbaiting is not as “queer” as it seems. Queer theory suggests that although queerbaiting focuses on promoting genuine representation and queer identities, queerbaiting is subject to the binary (queer versus non-queer) produced from a heteronormative discourse.[12] Moreover, the absence of actual queer representation suggests queerbaiting reinforces heteronormative stereotypes about queer people and their behaviors. Stereotypes are damaging for the queer community because it progresses the marginalization of already marginalized identities. Furthermore, queerbaiting leads to typecasting, and thus becomes mockery within production.[14] Queerbaiting encourages an audience to form queer ideologies without true queer representation.

Researchers suggest that although queerbaiting harms queer people, appropriate queer representation can be noticed and applied.[15] Because queerbaiting was derived via literacy interpretation, queerbaiting helps research appropriate a queer interpretations. Despite the many criticisms regarding queerbaiting as vigilant, it has provoked a community to rise up and demand better than dormant representation.[13] Queerbaiting has also enabled a shift in perspective from queer visibility to queer representation, in which queer people are beyond acknowledgement and maintain equal value to heterosexual representation.[12]

Queer fans have reacted with concern and anger to an identity they consider defining being used as a mere marketing ploy, a plaything for creatives, a mark of "edginess", or a commodity.[11]

Fans have derided, for instance, queer characters being used as plot devices rather than as characters for their own sake. For instance, Glee, a series with many queer series regulars, was criticized by fans for presenting "superficial stereotypes of queerness for dramatic effect".[16]

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".[17] 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."[18] 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."[17]

Societal shifts

According to media scholars, the perceived increase in queerbaiting reflects a shift towards a more positive perception of queer relationships in modern societies—and therefore, in a sense, societal progress.[11] However, the same societal shift has also increased expectations by queer fans as to the quality and authenticity of queer representation—they demand not just any representation at all, but rather "respectful and meaningful depictions" of their relationships.[11] That is why, according to media researcher Eve Ng, the ambiguous sexuality projected by twentieth century entertainers such as David Bowie, Elton John and Madonna was not scrutinized to the same degree as that of their successors.[11]

Various businesses and corporations, such as Starbucks, Ben & Jerry’s, and Tylenol have showcased queer people and queer families in advertisements, helping to normalize and increase awareness surrounding the queer community.[14] Although greater awareness for queer people is a positive side effect of queerbaiting, typical depictions of the queer community within advertisements include homogenous white middle-class individuals/couples.

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 the pink dollar. Terms associated with the queer community, like pink money, have shown the importance of queer people within an economy and a society.[14]

Examples

Fiction

In fiction, the following characters, or relationships between characters of the same sex, have been interpreted as examples of queerbaiting by at least some reliable media sources. This interpretation is not necessarily shared by all critics or fans.

Television

Some series did portray a same-sex relationship after being criticized for queerbaiting:

  • Killing Eve: The series was criticized for queerbaiting with the relationship of the main characters Eve and Villanelle in seasons 1 and 2.[28][29][30] After they kissed in season 3,[31] critics reassessed the series's approach to their relationship.[32][33]
  • Supernatural: The relationship between Castiel and Dean Winchester was seen as queerbaiting by fans.[34][5] In the fifteenth season (2020), Castiel confessed his love to Winchester, and promptly died.[35]

Film

Other media

In Youtube, many criticisms regarding queerbaiting have come to light in recent years. Queerbaiting on Youtube has been a popular marketing technique to attract queer audiences in order to gain success. Queer behaviors have become a fundamental attribute of queerbaiting, in which Youtube influencers display overt homosocial acts to allude to underlying queer identities. Especially in collaboration with each other, influencers publicize queerbait to receive the views of queer consumers while enticing the pink dollar.[14]

In music, Katy Perry's 2008 song "I Kissed a Girl" raised concerns because, according to one reviewer, "its appropriation of the gay lifestyle exists for the sole purpose of garnering attention".[44] Perry said in 2017 that she has done "more than [kissing a girl]" and is attracted to women, without specifying or labeling her sexuality.[45] The singers Ariana Grande (in 2019) and Rita Ora (in 2018) were also criticized by fans for queerbaiting after their lyrics contained references to bisexual love. In response to these concerns, Ora came out as bisexual to her fans.[11]

In advertising, the clothing label Calvin Klein apologized in 2019 for queerbaiting the public with an advertisement in which the model Bella Hadid kissed the character Lil Miquela.[46]

In theater, the relationship between Albus Severus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was criticized as queerbaiting.[47][48]

See also

References
  1. Romano, Aja (26 April 2013). ""Sherlock" fans lash out over sunken JohnLock ship". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  2. "Steven Moffat talk about JohnLock and Season 3 & 4". YouTube. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  3. Bridges, Rose (26 June 2013). "How Do We Solve A Problem Like "Queerbaiting"?: On TV's Not-So-Subtle Gay Subtext". Autostraddle. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  4. Scout, Emmett (19 June 2013). "Please Do Not Bait the Queers". The Next. University of Washington. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  5. Biele, Natalie (20 February 2017). "Queerbaiting: The Misrepresentation of the Queer Community". Odyssey. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  6. Ritschel, Chelsea (9 April 2019). "What is queer-baiting and why do celebrities do it?". The Independent. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  7. Harrad, Kate (2018-10-05). Claiming the B in LGBT: Illuminating the Bisexual Narrative. Thorntree Press LLC. ISBN 9781944934613.
  8. Fathallah, Judith (2014-07-17). "Moriarty's Ghost". Television & New Media. 16 (5): 490–500. doi:10.1177/1527476414543528.
  9. Masad, Ilana (2016-08-16). "Harry Potter and the Possible Queerbaiting: why fans are mad over a lack of gay romance". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  10. Nordin, Emma (2015-01-01). "From Queer Reading to Queerbaiting : The battle over the polysemic text and the power of hermeneutics". Master's thesis, Stockholm University. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  11. Honderich, Holly (8 April 2019). "Queerbaiting - exploitation or a sign of progress?". BBC.
  12. Nordin, Emma (2015). From Queer Reading to Queerbaiting : The battle over the polysemic text and the power of hermeneutics.
  13. Brennan, Joseph (2016-02-10). "Queerbaiting: The 'playful' possibilities of homoeroticism:". International Journal of Cultural Studies. doi:10.1177/1367877916631050.
  14. Abidin, Crystal (2019-09-03). "Yes Homo: Gay influencers, homonormativity, and queerbaiting on YouTube". Continuum. 33 (5): 614–629. doi:10.1080/10304312.2019.1644806. ISSN 1030-4312.
  15. Casey, Jeff (2018-08-18). "Afterthoughts on "Queer Cannibals and Deviant Detectives," Inspired by Hannibal Season 3". Quarterly Review of Film and Video. 35 (6): 583–600. doi:10.1080/10509208.2018.1499346. ISSN 1050-9208.
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  23. "Rizzoli & Isles". 1 February 2016.
  24. "Op-ed: The Trouble With 'Teen Wolf'". www.advocate.com. 2014-09-17. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  25. Mallikarjuna, Krutika. "How "Teen Wolf" Failed Its Bisexual Fans". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  26. ""Here We Go Again": The Endless Cycle of Queerbaiting in Pop Culture". Georgia Voice - Gay & LGBT Atlanta News. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
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  28. Young, Sarah (6 June 2019). "Killing Eve accused of queerbaiting by viewers". The Independent. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  29. Gutowitz, Jill (25 June 2019). "'Killing Eve', 'Dead to Me', and The Confusing State of 'Queerbaiting' on TV". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  30. Abraham, Amelia (29 June 2019). "Why culture's 'queerbaiting' leaves me cold". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
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  32. Smith, Craig (4 June 2020). "Pride Month 2020: How Sandra Oh's Eve Polastri redeemed 'Killing Eve' from falling prey to queerbaiting". Checkersaga. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  33. Bandyopadhyay, Alakananda. "Pride Month 2020: How Sandra Oh's Eve Polastri redeemed 'Killing Eve' from falling prey to queerbaiting". meaww.com. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  34. Cruz, Eliel (17 July 2014). "Fans Take Supernatural to Task for 'Queer Baiting'". Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  35. Radulovic, Petrana (2020-11-06). "Supernatural actually made Destiel canon(ish)". Polygon. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  36. "Black Panther Screenwriter Addresses Rumors of Cut Gay Romance". CBR. 2018-02-12. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  37. "Are 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'Power Rangers' queerbaiting LGBT fans?". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  38. "Fantastic Beasts 2 is Queerbaiting That Puts Dumbledore Back in the Closet". Den of Geek. 2018-11-20. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  39. Donald, Ella. "Pitch Perfect Has a Queerbaiting Problem". them. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  40. Obropta, Clement Tyler (2019-06-27). "PITCH PERFECT 3 A Ca-Queerbaits Its Audience". Film Inquiry. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  41. Yee, Lawrence (6 December 2019). "Is JJ Abrams' LGBTQ Tease for 'The Rise of Skywalker' Just More Queerbaiting? (Commentary)". The Wrap. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  42. Turner, Molly Catherine (8 December 2019). "Is Disney continuing to queerbait fans with The Rise of Skywalker press tour?". Culturess. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  43. Zane, Zachary. "Analysis | 'Thor's' Valkyrie is Marvel's first LGBT character. But you wouldn't know it from the film". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  44. Cinquemani, Sal (2008). "Katy Perry - One of the Boys" reviewArchived June 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Slant Magazine. Posted: June 15, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  45. "Katy Perry Opens Up About Accepting Her Sexuality For The First Time". Grazia. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  46. Richards, Kimberley (18 May 2019). "Calvin Klein Apologizes Amid 'Queerbaiting' Criticism Over Bella Hadid, Robot Ad". HuffPost. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  47. Romano, Aja (2016-09-04). "The Harry Potter universe still can't translate its gay subtext to text. It's a problem". Vox. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  48. "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a gay love story don't @ me". Time Out Melbourne. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  • Riley, Olivia (September 22, 2020). "QUEERBAITING AND FANDOM: Teasing Fans through Homoerotic Possibilities". The Velvet light trap. 86: 60–62 – via Project Muse.

Further reading
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