Queerbaiting and Fake LGBTQ+ Representation in Mass Media

Christel Joy T. Buergo

12 - Thomson

Queerbaiting is a problem under LGBTQ+ representation in the media. It is a term

used in fiction and entertainment industries wherein creators attempt to attract a queer
audience by adding homoerotic subtext and tension between two characters, but failing to
elevate the subtext into an actual relationhsip (Mitchell, 2018). Often seen as a marketing
technique, it has a dual purpose—to attract queer consumers and to avoid alienating
cisgender and heterosexual consumers (Oney, 2019).

People argue whether or not queerbaiting is a progressive step toward LGBTQ+

representation in the media, but I believe that queerbaiting is not representation—it is a
misleading act posing as queer representation. Queerbaiting tends to overlook the dignity
and humanness of human relationships for the sake of money, which is very
demonstrative of the opportunistic mindset instilled by capitalism.

A study by Smith, et al., suggests that exclusion is the norm when it comes to
minority representation (2017), despite its powerful educational impact on audience
members (Lawson, 2018). With the huge amount of time people spend on mass media
consumption, what is seen on-screen shapes how reality is viewed (Wang Yuen, 2016).
At the same time, what people see of the LGBTQ+ community on-screen can play a part
on how they see the community in the real world.

As content creators continue to utilize queerbaiting in media, relationships

between members of the LGBTQ+ community continue to be invalidated and
compromised. But what drives queerbaiting?

According to an article posted in Medium, providing real representation for queer

individuals makes the industry fear of the impact of receiving backlash from harsh
criticisms (West, 2018). These criticisms, coming from people who do not accept
homosexuality as a postulate of reality, show the discrimination and discriminution that
society continuously gives the LGBTQ+ community.

Buergo
 Some also argue that queerbaiting, in the past, has been a way of depicting
LGBTQ+ relationships all the while getting away from rigid censors and unfriendly
audiences (Rose, 2013). Queerbaiting has been a way to introduce homosexual and queer
relationships into media, but we are way past that. Content creators are given more than
enough freedom today to provide actual LGBTQ+ representation in mass media.

How then, can we solve the problem of queerbaiting in the media?

Consumers understanding what queerbaiting is and what causes it is a primary step

towards the solution. However, content creators should also be held accountable for what
they show in their material. The idea that heterosexual romance alone suits general
audiences is a show of heterosexism, a non-inclusive way to of determining the norms of
society (Rose, 2013).

In this day and age, people are receiving more freedom than they have had
before. Content creators in the present have the privilege of being able to include various
diversities in their material. Fearlessly using this privilege is a solution to
queerbaiting—if your characters are queer, be loud and be proud!

Buergo
REFERENCES

Lawson, Kimberly. “Why Seeing Yourself Represented on Screen Is So Important.”

VICE, 21 Feb. 2018,
www.vice.com/en_us/article/zmwq3x/why-diversity-on-screen-is-important-black
-panther.

Mitchell, Bea. “Queerbaiting: What Is It and Why Is It a Problem?” Pink News, 26 Feb.
2018,
www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/02/26/what-is-queerbaiting-everything-you-need-to-kn
ow/.

Oney, Warren. “QUEERBAITING: Exploitation or Representation?” A Rose in Harlem,

19 June 2019,
www.aroseinharlem.org/blog/queerbaiting-exploitation-or-representation.

Rose, “How Do We Solve A Problem Like ‘Queerbaiting’?: On TV’s Not-So-Subtle Gay

Subtext.” Autostraddle, 26 June 2013,
www.autostraddle.com/how-do-we-solve-a-problem-like-queerbaiting-on-tvs-not-
so-subtle-gay-subtext-182718/.

Smith, Stacy L, et al. “Inequality in 900 Popular Films: Examining Portrayals of Gender,
Race/Ethnicity, LGBT, and Disability from 2007-2016.” Media, Diversity, &
Social Change Initiative, July 2017,
https://annenberg.usc.edu/sites/default/files/Dr_Stacy_L_Smith-Inequality_in_900
_Popular_Films.pdf.

Wang Yuen, Nancy. Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism. Rutgers University
Press, 2016.

West, Alex. “Queerbaiting: The Unspoken and Unsettling Truth of Modern Media.”
Medium, 26 Nov. 2018,
medium.com/@alex.n.west/queerbaiting-the-unspoken-and-unsettling-truth-of-mo
dern-media-56b28b544ec2.

Buergo