Queerbaiting is a

marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but then do not depict, same-sex romance or other

LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

+ representation. The purpose is to attract (" bait") an LGBTQ+ or straight ally audience with the suggestion or possibility of relationships or characters that appeal to them. Queerbaiting has been observed in popular culture and fiction such as films, television series, books, music, ads, various forms of media, but also in celebrities who convey an ambiguous sexual identity through their works and statements. The term arose in and has been popularized through discussions in Internet

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...

since the early 2010s. It comes from a larger history of LGBTQ+ discourse in media representation dating back to the 1970s from subtle marketing to LGBTQ+ people through commercials and books.

Assessments

Queer audience concerns

Queer fans have reacted with concern and anger to an identity they consider defining being used as a mere marketing ploy, a plaything for creatives, a mark of "edginess", or a commodity. Fans have derided, for instance, queer characters being used as

plot devices A plot device or plot mechanism is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelie ...

rather than as characters for their own sake. For instance, ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'', a series with many queer series regulars, was criticized by fans for presenting "superficial stereotypes of queerness for dramatic effect". Queer fans consider queerbaiting as "a way to throw us a bone when we normally wouldn't have anything, to acknowledge that we're there in the audience when the powers that be would prefer to ignore us". Emmet Scout wrote that "queerbaiting works on its audience because it offers the suggestion that queer people do have a vital place in these stories, that they might even be the defining figures, the heroes. The suggestion—but not the reality." Rose Bridges summarized the practice's effect on queer fans as receiving "just enough epresentationto keep us interested, but not enough to satisfy us and make us truly represented."

Critiques

Critics of those who engage in queerbaiting discourse point to its similarity, and perhaps confusion by audiences, with

subtext Subtext is any content of a creative work, which is not announced explicitly (by characters or author), but is implicit, or becomes something understood by the audience. Subtext has been used historically to imply controversial subjects without ...

. Subtext became popular in media, especially in film, during the 1930s due to the

Hays Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

which limited what can be shown on screen. The use of subtext has been a literary ploy to tell a variety of stories since. However, those who engage with queerbaiting discourse argue that LGBT representation no longer needs to be in the shadows of media. Instead of adding artistic value, queer fans view this tactic as perpetuating LGBT

marginalization Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...

Societal shifts

According to media scholars, the perceived increase in queerbaiting reflects a shift towards a more positive perception of queer relationships in modern societies—and therefore, in a sense, societal progress. However, the same societal shift has also increased expectations by queer fans as to the quality and authenticity of queer representation—they demand not just any representation at all, but rather "respectful and meaningful depictions" of their relationships. That is why, according to media researcher Eve Ng, the ambiguous sexuality projected by twentieth-century entertainers such as

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

and

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

was not scrutinized to the same degree as that of their successors. Various businesses and corporations, such as

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream p ...

, and

Tylenol Tylenol may refer to: * Paracetamol Paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen, is a medication used to treat fever and mild to moderate pain. Common brand names include Tylenol and Panadol. At a standard dose, paracetamol only slightly decr ...

have showcased queer people and queer families in advertisements, helping to normalize and increase awareness surrounding the queer community. Queerbaiting has brought the spending power of the queer community to light, and businesses make economic decisions that promote and support the queer community and its representation that ultimately entices the

pink dollar Pink money describes the purchasing power of the LGBT community, often especially with respect to political donations. With the rise of the gay rights movement, pink money has gone from being a fringe or marginalized market to a thriving industr ...

. Terms associated with the queer community, like ''pink money'', have shown the importance of queer people within an economy and a society. In May 2020, reviewer Sophie Perry, writing for a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

lifestyle magazine, ''

Curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line (geometry), line, but that does not have to be Linearity, straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point (ge ...

'', noted how queerbaiting has long endured in LGBT representation, noting how

She-Ra She-Ra, real name Adora, is a fictional superheroine in the 1985 Filmation series '' She-Ra: Princess of Power'' and its 2018 reboot '' She-Ra and the Princesses of Power''. A series of toys under her name was produced by Mattel in 1984. Her f ...

and

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn is a character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker (character), Joker in ''Batman: The An ...

both had same-sex kisses, happening within stories that could have turned out to be "typical queerbaiting" but did not. Perry added that the "queer conclusion" of the show is thanks to

ND Stevenson Nate Diana Stevenson or simply ND "Indy" Stevenson (formerly Noelle Diana Stevenson; born December 31, 1991) is an American cartoonist and animation producer. He is the creator, showrunner, and executive producer of the animated television ser ...

, describing it as very different from the conclusion of ''

The Legend of Korra ''The Legend of Korra'' (abbreviated as TLOK), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Korra'' or simply ''Korra'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelode ...

'', which confirmed

Korra Avatar Korra is the title lead character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''The Legend of Korra'' (a sequel to '' Avatar: The Last Airbender''), in which she is depicted as the current incarnation of Raava's Avatar—the spiritual em ...

and Asami's relationship but left it "purposefully ambiguous" so it could air on a children's network. She concluded by calling ''

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'' is an American Animated series, animated streaming television series developed by ND Stevenson and produced by DreamWorks Animation Television. Like the 1985 Filmation series ''She-Ra: Princess of Power'' ...

'' culturally significant, and added that as more creative queer people come to the fore, inevitably queerbaiting will "become a thing of the past". In March 2021, a writer for '' Vanity Fair'', Joanna Robinson asked when "

queer coding Queer coding is the Subtext, subtextual Code (semiotics), coding of a character in media as queer. Though such a character's sexual identity may not be explicitly confirmed within their respective work or they may in fact be straight despite their ...

" veers into the territory of "queer baiting", with

Dana Terrace Dana Terrace (born December 8, 1990) is an American animator, writer, storyboard artist, director, producer and voice actress. She is best known as the creator of the Disney Channel animated series ''The Owl House''. She is also known for storyboa ...

saying it happens a "lot in modern

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

", and Robinson saying this is also seen in shows like the end of ''

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

'' or the "hubbub around Finn and Poe in ''

The Rise of Skywalker ''Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker'') is a 2019 American epic space opera film produced, , and directed by J. J. Abrams. Produced by Lucasfilm and Abrams' productio ...

''".

Examples

Companies and brands

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

has been accused of queerbaiting on several occasions, with Kodi Maier of the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hull ...

arguing that "

is willing to create animated films and television shows that suggest queer content, but only so long as it doesn’t damage its conservative image." The directors of '' Avengers: Endgame'' had spoken in interviews about believing it was "a perfect time" to include queer representation in the franchise, however, it turned out to be a single line said by an unnamed secondary character in the film. ''

'' faced similar criticism after director

J.J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as ''Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' For ...

stated in the promotional press tour for the film that he had included queer representation in the film, but it turned out to be a single shot of a kiss in the background of one scene. A number of other Disney films, including the 2017 ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

'' film and '' Cruella'' were promoted as having queer characters (in some cases promoted as having Disney's first openly queer character), yet in each case the portrayal of queerness on screen was either just hinted at or a brief background that could easily be missed.

Fiction

The following characters, or relationships between characters of the same sex, have also been interpreted as examples of queerbaiting by at least some reliable media sources. This interpretation is not necessarily shared by all critics or fans.

Television

* ''

Once Upon A Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...

'':

Emma Swan Emma Swan is a fictional character in ABC's television series '' Once Upon a Time'' and the protagonist of seasons 1-6. She is portrayed by Jennifer Morrison as an adult, by Abby Ross as a teenager, and by Mckenna Grace as a child. Emma appears ...

and

Regina Mills The characters of ABC's '' Once Upon a Time'' and its spin-off '' Once Upon a Time in Wonderland'' are related to classic fairy tale and fantasy characters, and often tie-in with other Disney media properties. Cast Main cast : = Main cast (c ...

. * '' 2 Broke Girls'': Max Black and Caroline Channing. * ''

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...

'': Evan "Buck" Buckley and Edmundo "Eddie" Diaz. * ''

Buffy The Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

'': Buffy and

Faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

. * ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'': The Doctor and

Yasmin Khan Yasmin Khan is a historian of British India and Associate Professor of History at Kellogg College, Oxford. Education and career Born in 1977 to Pakistani and Anglo-Irish parents in Kingston-upon-Thames, Khan completed her BA in history at S ...

. * ''

'': Rachel Berry and

Quinn Fabray Quinn Fabray is a fictional character from the TV series '' Glee''. The character is portrayed by actress Dianna Agron, and has appeared in ''Glee'' from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. She is the cheerleading captain at the ...

. *''

Line of Duty ''Line of Duty'' is a British police procedural television series created by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions. On 26 June 2012, BBC Two began to broadcast the first series; it was its best-performing drama series in ten years wit ...

:'' Joanne Davidson and Kate Fleming. * '' Riverdale'':

Betty Cooper Elizabeth "Betty" Cooper is one of the main characters appearing in American comic books published by Archie Comics. She is the lead guitarist, percussionist and one of the three singers of The Archies. The character was created by Bob Montana an ...

and

Veronica Lodge Veronica Cecilia Lodge is one of the main characters in the Archie Comics franchise, and is the keyboardist and one of the three vocalists of rock band The Archies. She is from New York but currently resides in the town of Riverdale, with her ...

, and

Archie Andrews Archibald "Archie" Andrews, created in 1941 by publisher John L. Goldwater and artist Bob Montana in collaboration with writer Vic Bloom,

and Joaquin DeSantos. * ''

Rizzoli & Isles ''Rizzoli & Isles'' is an American crime drama television series starring Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as Maura Isles. Based on the series of ''Rizzoli & Isles'' novels by Tess Gerritsen, the plot follows Boston Homicide polic ...

'': Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles. * '' Sherlock'':

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

and John Watson. Cast and crew of ''Sherlock'' have consistently denied that the relationship is intended to be seen as romantic, to the dismay of many fans. * ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

'':

Kara Danvers Kara Danvers, also known as Kara Zor-El on her homeworld, is a fictional character in the Arrowverse franchise, mainly the television series ''Supergirl''. Created by executive producers Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler and Andrew Kreisberg, the charac ...

and

Lena Luthor Lena Luthor is a fictional comic book character in DC Comics. She is the sister of Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor. She was played by Cassidy Freeman in the television series ''Smallville'' and by Katie McGrath in the Arrowverse series ''Supergirl ( ...

. * ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Prod ...

'': Will Byers and Mike Wheeler * ''

Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is chang ...

'': Derek Hale and Stiles Stilinski. * ''

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier ''The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'' is an American television miniseries created by Malcolm Spellman for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Sam Wilson / Falcon and Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier. ...

'':

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

and

Bucky Barnes James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Originally introduced as a sidekick to Captain America, the character was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and first appeared ...

. * '' Voltron: Legendary Defender'': Shiro and Adam. * ''

Wednesday Wednesday is the day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. In countries which have Friday as their holiday, Wednesday is the fifth day of the week. In countries ...

'': Wednesday and Enid both have male love interests in the first season while Netflix hosted a promotional event called "Wednesgay" and hid replies on tweets calling Wednesday gay. Some series did portray a same-sex relationship after being criticized for queerbaiting: *''

Killing Eve ''Killing Eve'' is a British spy thriller television series, produced in the United Kingdom by Sid Gentle Films for BBC America and BBC Three. The series follows Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), a British intelligence investigator tasked with capturi ...

'': The series was criticized for queerbaiting with the relationship of the main characters Eve and Villanelle in seasons 1 and 2. After they kissed in season 3, critics reassessed the series's approach to their relationship. *''

'': The relationship between Castiel and

Dean Winchester Dean Winchester is one of the two protagonists from the American drama television series '' Supernatural'', along with his younger brother Sam. He is portrayed primarily by Jensen Ackles. Other versions of the character having been portrayed b ...

was seen as queerbaiting by fans. In the fifteenth season (2020), Castiel confessed his love to Winchester immediately before dying, prompting criticism that the show was playing into the "bury your gays" trope.

Film

* ''

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

'':

Okoye Okoye is a family name (surname) originating in Nigeria. It is an Anambra State, Anambra dialect derived from the central Igbo name Okorie (meaning someone born on orie market day, or Oye market day as known in Anambra State). Notable people wi ...

and Ayo. * '' Captain America: Civil War'':

and Steve Rogers. * '' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald'':

Albus Dumbledore Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' series. For most of the series, he is the headmaster of the wizarding school Hogwarts. As part of his backstory, it is revealed that he is ...

and Gellert Grindelwald. * ''

Luca The last universal common ancestor (LUCA) is the most recent population from which all organisms now living on Earth share common descent—the most recent common ancestor of all current life on Earth. This includes all cellular organisms; th ...

'': Luca and Alberto. * ''

Pitch Perfect ''Pitch Perfect'' is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore and written by Kay Cannon. It features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Skylar Astin, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis Knap ...

'': Beca and Chloe. * '' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'': Finn and Poe. *'' The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity'': Qing Ming and Bo Ya. * '' Thor: Ragnarok'':

Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...

. * '' Thor: Love and Thunder'':

and

Korg , founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, they ...

Anime

*'' Izetta: The Last Witch'': Izetta and Princess Finé. *''

Sound! Euphonium is a Japanese novel series written by Ayano Takeda. The story is set in Uji, Kyoto and focuses on the Kitauji High School Music Club, whose concert band is steadily improving thanks to the newly appointed adviser's strict instruction ...

'': Kumiko Ōmae and Reina Kōsaka.

Social media

April Fool's Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...

2020, content creators, who were mostly straight men, started to post short videos and

challenges Challenge may refer to: * Voter challenging or caging, a method of challenging the registration status of voters * Euphemism for disability * Peremptory challenge, a dismissal of potential jurors from jury duty Places Geography *Challenge, C ...

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

, mostly

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

and

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

, lip-singing to

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...

's " Boys & Girls" and pretending to come out as

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

. In 2021, Alpha House influencers were accused of queerbaiting, while other straight web personalities received the same accusations. Some influencers came out after being accused of queerbaiting.

Noah Beck Noah Timothy Beck (born May 4, 2001) is an American social media personality most known for his content on TikTok. In 2019, Beck was a midfielder for the Portland Pilots men's soccer team. Early life Beck was born on May 4, 2001, and is from ...

was also accused of queerbaiting while he kept confirming his identity as straight. Many "challenges" or "trends" on TikTok or Instagram were accused of queerbaiting. This includes kissing others of the same gender, posting false

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

narratives, or falsely claiming to be in a

same-sex relationship A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries w ...

. Many celebrities, including

Billie Eilish Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single " Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell, with whom ...

and

Normani Normani Kordei Hamilton ( ; born May 31, 1996) is an American singer and dancer. She auditioned as a solo act for the American television series ''The X Factor'' in 2012, after which she became a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which wen ...

, were accused of queerbaiting for their posts on Instagram. Although this has been criticised, others have argued that the popularity of this trend is an example of the growing acceptance of LGBT people and (among males) a

homosocial In sociology, homosociality means same-sex relationships that are not of a romantic or sexual nature, such as friendship, mentorship, or others. Researchers who use the concept mainly do so to explain how men uphold men's dominance in society. ...

embrace of a "softer" form of

masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors con ...

Other media

In advertising, the clothing label

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and ...

apologized in 2019 for queerbaiting the public with an advertisement in which the model

Bella Hadid Isabella Khairiah Hadid (born October 9, 1996) is an American model. In 2016, she was voted "Model of the Year" by industry professionals for Models.com. Over the span of four years, Hadid has made twenty-seven appearances on international '' ...

kissed the character Lil Miquela. In theater, the relationship between Albus Severus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy in ''

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' is a play written by Jack Thorne from an original story by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Thorne. Previews of the play began at the Palace Theatre, London, on 7 June 2016 as a two-part play, and it prem ...

'' was criticized as queerbaiting. In

Kpop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...

, two members from the all-girls group

BLACK PINK Blackpink (, commonly stylized in all caps or as BLɅϽKPIИK) is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment, consisting of members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. The group debuted in August 2016 with their single album '' Square ...

, Lisa and Rose, have had queer moments with each other. During a photoshoot in 2020 Lisa had knelt down on one knee and proposed to Rose. Lisa then shared the photo on instagram with the caption, "She said yes :)" Some fans have pointed out that while many Korean pop industries profit through queerbaiting, LGBT fandom members experience discrimination. In February 2023,

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...

said it was "almost underestimating" intelligence of gay people to "claim queerbaiting" in regards to claims that

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His musical career began in 2010 as a solo contestant on the British music competition series ''The X Factor (UK TV series), The X Factor''. Following hi ...

is adopting queerness in a "cynical attempt to attract a queer fanbase".

Assessments

Queer audience concerns

Critiques

Societal shifts

Examples

Companies and brands

Fiction

Television

Film

Anime

Social media

Other media

See also

References

Further reading