#10 Queer-baitng

Representation of LGBT characters in the media has come a long way since the negative portrayal of queer characters since the 70's. From the 70's to 90's the only way films and TV could portray LGBT characters was if they were painted in a negative light or if their storyline ended tragically. Since then we have made progress in film and television by showing many positive queer characters. Unfortunately, there is a phenomenon known as queer-baiting that has been pervading many popular TV shows. The term queer-baiting doesn't have a official definition because it is a new term.

These Supernatural characters are often the subject of queer-baiting

The urban dictionary definition is when an author/director/etc. gives hints, and clever twists to paint a character as possibly being queer, to satisfy queer audiences, but never outright says they are so they can keep their heterosexual audience. This is done in many popular shows and some fans are fed up with it. The two shows that I'm most familiar with are Supernatural and BBC's Sherlock. In these shows there are canonically straight men that are very close and often share intimate moments. These characters, due to their closeness, are usually shipped together, which simply means that they pair them together romantically outside of the actual show. When directors see this obsession with queer couples they will begin to add in subtle scenes and nods to the characters being gay with no intention of ever making them actually gay. This is frustrating to actual queer fans and shows a reluctance to actually add in queer characters. By doing this they have alienated their queer fan base to keep their heterosexual fan base. These two shows are particularly popular among the LGBT community and although we have made great progress in the fight for accurate representation of queer characters in media there is still the horrible use of devices like queer-baiting. This means we still have work to do. Until next week, remember #LoveWins.