QUEERBAITING is not representation

It became abundantly clear in 2022 that, despite being a term that’s been around for ages (at least by online standards), the vast majority of people still don’t seem to understand what ‘queerbaiting’ means and it is frequently used incorrectly. Queerbaiting is not Harry Styles wearing a dress or 18-year-old Kit Connor not disclosing his sexuality (something many people haven’t even figured out at that age or would ever want to make public). In its truest sense, queerbaiting refers to a marketing technique used by the media, in which creators promise LGBTQ+ representation through the presentation of characters and relationships. This is done through the promotion of the show (posters, trailers etc.), hinting at but not actually depicting same-gender romance or other types of LGBTQ+ representation. In real terms, this often looks like two same-gender characters depicted as ‘close friends’ who spend all their time together, maybe even live together, and at first glance seem to fulfil all the tropes of a developing romantic plotline or established relationship. But instead, these characters are given an episode-long, unsatisfying romance with an opposite-gender partner (to prove their sexuality is, in fact, straight - obviously) and this ‘no homo’, just-buddies relationship instead provides ample opportunity for a stream of low-bar gay jokes to address the chemistry that is clearly displayed on screen.

“In it’s truest sense, queerbaiting refers to a marketing technique used by the media, in which creators promise LGBTQ+ representation through the presentation of characters and relationships.”

So, what makes a material queerbaiting and not just lacking in representation or being openly homophobic? It is incredibly difficult to outright accuse a show of queerbaiting, as it’s ultimately a lot about subjective opinion unless you have a deep knowledge of everyone who made decisions on the show. Watching media and wanting two characters of the same gender to be in a relationship isn’t queerbaiting but you have to ask yourself why you want to see that storyline. Shows are often accused of queerbaiting not just because they show two friends with chemistry but because potential relationships between same-gender characters are directly addressed and dismissed. The sitcom Community is a clear example as a series that is frequently aware of its own tropes through its use of meta – Troy and Abed’s relationship is continually joked about to the point where you could almost argue their romance is canon if you don’t laugh at the jokes about them being ‘boyfriends’. Romance tropes are used in a clearly identifiable way to encourage some laughs at the supposedly unnaturally close ‘friendship’ between the two characters, but they are given female love interests and their relationship never develops (and, no, having a canonically queer character that is characterised as

Merlin, BBC, 2012

But the analysis of representation is more complex than the distinction between queerbaiting and an ab sence of queerness altogether, as there are plenty of shows that were intended to have LGBTQ+ content but were blocked by networks or scenes were cut out etc… This leaves queer-coded content that, on a surface lev el, looks very much like queerbaiting and can produce the same effect, without this being the intention of its creators. BBC’s Merlin, for example, has frequently been criticised by LGBTQ+ fans who were disappointed by the lack of representation in a show where having magic can be read as a metaphor for being queer, depicted as a part of Merlin’s identity he had to hide due to perse cution, aside from around other people who share that same identity. The finale in 2012 featured an emotional ‘coming out’ scene in which Merlin reveals his magic to his close friend (and, for many fans, love interest) Arthur after five seasons; an episode that was written as a love story between two men, according to an interview with the creators of the show. Despite this, aside from the iconic line ‘just hold me’, the finale still shied away from any explicit confirmation of a romance between Merlin and Arthur. When you trace the content back to the original pilot script of the series, the homosexual subtext is not just a creation by the fans but is explicit in the text. Perhaps, had it been made a few years later, we could’ve seen a much more queer-inclusive retelling of the Arthurian legend.

“...there are plenty of shows that were intended to have LGBTQ+ content but were blocked by networks or scenes were cut out etc...This leaves queer-coded content that, on a surface level, looks very much like queerbaiting and can produce the same effect, without this being the intention of its creators.”

If queerbaiting as a concept is easily problematised, why bother drawing attention to it? It is important to note that whilst people using the term incorrectly to criticise celebrities has drawn much media attention, LGBTQ+ viewers are often not taken very seriously in their demands for better representation. There are plenty of shows that show beautiful friendships between characters of the same gender and aren’t accused of queerbaiting, but we have gone past the point of using romantic tropes for two characters of the same gender and still expecting an audience to not take that closeness seriously. It is affirming to see content like Our Flag Means Death (now available on BBC iPlayer) which uses those same tropes that are meant to be laughed off in other media to depict a gay love story. Even knowing it was praised

Our Flag Means Death, HBO, 2022

for its LGBTQ+ representation, it still took me until I was half-way through to realise it really was a love story because I’m so used to seeing other shows tease these relationships and refuse to evolve them.

The important thing to take away from this is that there is a huge difference between having an LGBTQ+ character and displaying meaningful representation on screen. Sixteenth-century plays had same-gender relationships because the crowds like to mock and ridicule them; whereas now we have tropes like ‘bury your gays’ where characters come out or begin an LGBTQ+ relationship only to be killed off quickly to avoid having to show it on screen for more than five minutes. There is more representation now and it is of course a huge testament to the LGBTQ+ community and its allies that came before us that we now get to see people with shared experience on our screens. But it is sadly the trans women of colour who were at the forefront of the LGBTQ+ rights movement, that we still see so little of. These women are left out of the stories of queer joy and are only displayed in the context of their continuing struggle. Not every piece of media needs to have a queer character but to simply state that we have representation now overlooks the quality of the representation that is available. There is still so much space for LGBTQ+ experience and, above all, queer joy to be put at the forefront.

“Not every piece of media needs to have a queer character but to simply state that we have representation now overlooks the quality of the representation that is available. There is still so much space for LGBTQ+ experience and, above all, queer joy to be put at the forefront.”