Introduction/What is queer-baiting?
In recent years, the portrayl of LGBT folks on tv has increased. Shows like Glee and Orange is the new black are inclusive of LGBT charcaters, fulfiling a social demand for representation. The way that canonically LGBT chacters are portrayed is a vastly complicated topic, that I will not be touching on. Instead im going to foccus on a different issue that comes up in decussions about LGBT reprisentation in tv, queer-baiting.
I am sure that most people with an active media presence are somewhat aware of the concept of queerbaiting. But for those who arent, queerbaiting generally refers to the growing trend of tv shows to include subtexts that hint at a same-sex relationships, without ever actually developing the relationship on-screen.
…show more content…
So why is queerbaiting an issue?
To understand why queer-baiting is an issue, it is first important to reliase that there is a huge lack of representation of queer characters in television. In the 2014-2015 prime time lineup, only 3.9% of regular characters were LGBTQIAP.
To hint at a character being queer, and then flat out deny any possibility of the character actually being queer, is problematic.
Queerbaiting exploitats the loyalies of lgbt viewers as it hints at the inclusion of queer character's without providing any real representation.
In an attempt to hold on to viewers, they continued to imply the possibility of making the characters canonically queer, and then turn around and deney that there is intentions to make these characters anything other than hetrosexual. Shows and films do this in an attempt to draw in viewers who want to see queer characters without offending those who do not.
In fact, it is this “no homo” response that makes queerbaiting so problematic, as it reduces homosexuality to a gag, while also suggesting that it’s wrong and undesirable with the underlying assumption, “of course we’re not gay, how could you even think