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Today we are apparently talking about queerbaiting, so I thought I’d put in my two cents:
What Is And Isn’t Queerbaiting, A
What Is And Isn’t Queerbaiting, A
First: a definition.
Queerbaiting is when, through either good intention or malice, a show intentionally implies through subtext, jokes, or meta that a character (or characters) might be LGBTQIA+, without any intention of following through, in order to draw a queer audience.
Queerbaiting is when, through either good intention or malice, a show intentionally implies through subtext, jokes, or meta that a character (or characters) might be LGBTQIA+, without any intention of following through, in order to draw a queer audience.
This is almost always seen with specific pairings, but CAN be focused on a singular character.
So, what kinds of content are queerbaiting, and what are not?
So, what kinds of content are queerbaiting, and what are not?
Queerbaiting by its very nature requires intent. If you feel a show implied queer subtext unintentionally, that’s interpretation/queer coding, NOT queerbaiting.
If a creator purposefully implied queer characters with no intention of following through, because they thought it would please fans, then their intentions were ‘good’ but that’s still queerbaiting.
If for some reason a show WANTS to make characters queer, but is not allowed to via censorship from networks or producers/backers, so they introduce queer subtext, that is NOT queerbaiting. That is “getting crap past the radar.”
If because of censorship a show is allowed to make characters queer, but ONLY in the last few episodes, then that is unfortunate but it isn’t queerbaiting, as they always intended to follow through and then did.
If a show NEVER intended to make characters queer and then did so last minute since the show was ending anyway and they wouldn’t have to do anything with it, that’s gross and everything before it was still queerbaiting because they did not originally plan to follow through.
(That last one is open to debate so for fairness sake we will call it Schrodinger’s Queerbaiting)
If *you personally* interpreted characters as queer, and then they weren’t because the creators had never intended it, that is headcanon, NOT queerbaiting (and yes, I’ve seen this one)
If a character is intended to be queer, revealed to be queer, and then immediately killed off, that’s Bury Your Gays and it’s awful, but it’s not queerbaiting.
If a relationship is explicitly romantic but asexual, that’s NOT queerbaiting.
If other queer characters exist in the show besides the ones being implied, that MAY or MAY NOT be queerbaiting depending on context and personal opinion on whether you can queerbaiting in a show with canon queer characters. Use good judgement.
If the characters are hinted at and then have a scene that COULD be canonizing the queerness, but is left open to interpretation so as not to alienate or offend part of the audience, that’s queerbaiting and also homophobic.
Feel free to add on if I missed any, or to correct me if I’ve gotten something wrong!
(Also I had specific ships in mind for all of these)
Addendum: if the media predates a time when having queer characters was socially acceptable, it’s not queerbaiting.
(So, for example, The Great Gatsby isn’t queerbaiting)
