Queerbaiting in Films and Series - To what Extent does it Impact Society’s View of Queer People

Article by Selma Pietruck (Published 24.11.2023)

Queerbaiting has turned into a vast discussion over the past few years, especially on the internet. But what is the idea behind it and how does it impact our society? 

Wikipedia defines queerbaiting as “A marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but do not depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation.” 

Queerbaiting is a strategy that tricks viewers who are LGBTQ+ or allies into believing that a character will come out as queer to keep them watching the show, without losing conservative viewers. The problem with this is that it alienates queer people in a way where they are seen as nothing but a marketing strategy by companies. Queerbaiting seems to say that ‘we cannot depict same-sex relationships because it is not normal or acceptable to be queer’. In consequence, queer love is further estranged by these companies. A known example of queerbaiting is the television series Sherlock, which tells the story of the popular detective Sherlock Holmes and his assistant John Watson in the modern world. Throughout the entire series, references to the characters’ sexualities are made and they are constantly believed to be gay by other characters. However, the romance never happens and viewers are left hanging. The idea behind this probably was that if fans think that their favourite characters are going to end up in a gay relationship at some point, they will keep watching the show. 

Even though this might seem like a pretty harmless marketing strategy at first, there is an unpleasant subtext to queerbaiting because it affects the way we think of queer romance. The strategy stigmatises and makes it a taboo subject, which is only hinted at and never openly shown in media, especially in main characters. This ties into the fact that, when shows have queer characters, they often make the villains inherently queer, which is a way to quieten the LGBTQ+ audience members who want representation. However, these queer characters are often portrayed in a stereotypical fashion and being gay is often their main personality trait, which is a very negative perception of queer folks, often used by homophobic people to invalidate them. And because the queer characters are villainous, conservative- and homophobic people are not ‘scared away’ as quickly and also watch the show.

All in all, queerbaiting is a damaging concept which can alienate queer individuals or force them into outdated stereotypes, all while catering to homophobic people and giving into outdated beliefs instead of fighting them. It is good to actively pay attention to and avoid movies and shows with a lot of queerbaiting to put an end to this unethical marketing strategy. 

Sources:

Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, February 7). Wikipedia Archives. Wikipedia. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Hauptseite