Preview

Essay On Queer Baiting

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
881 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On Queer Baiting
In recent years, the portrayal of LGBTQA folks on TV has increased. Shows like Glee and Orange is the New Black are inclusive of LGBTQA characters, fulfilling a social demand for representation. The way that canonically LGBTQA characters and their relationships are portrayed is a vastly complicated topic, that I will not be touching on. Instead, I'm going to focus on a different issue that comes up in discussions about LGBTQA representation in the media, 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 aren't, queerbaiting generally refers to the growing trend of TV shows to include subtexts of same-sex romance, without ever actually developing
…show more content…
Well, anyone who has seen the show Supernatural might have noticed the sexual/romantic tension between the characters Castiel and Dean Winchester. Supernatural has drawn a huge amount of controversy about its queer-baiting tactics in this relationship. Dean Winchester and the angel Castiel share a “more profound bond” and many of the other characters make jokes or comments as if the two were romantically linked. However, these allegations are repeatedly brushed off with a “no homo” type response.
Another example of queer-baiting in television is the BBC Sherlock. In this adaption, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson are often mistaken for a couple, in response to this John defends his heterosexuality ("I am not gay"). Meanwhile, Sherlock never comments on his sexuality, leading many fans to believe that he falls under the LGBTQA umbrella, however, these rumors are never confirmed in the show. As with Supernatural, fans point to the multiple relationship jokes and the recurring use of romantic tropes, without any intention to follow through with an explicit romance as queer baiting.

So now you're probably thinking, why is queer-baiting an issue? It's not like the writers are being homophobic, is it?

Although queerbaiting may not be homophobia per se, it is heterosexism, the unspoken assumption that heterosexuality is the norm and anything that falls outside is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Best Essays

    Henrici, R (2007) Homophobia: Does it Affect Quality of Care. Journal of Undergraduate Nursing Writing. Vol 1 (1). 56-62. Retrieved November 17, 2010 from EBSCOhost.…

    • 3387 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Avenue Q is a hilarious, almost borderline disturbing show, filled with adult themes, vulgar language, and half naked puppets. If you can see past the inescapable sex or gay storyline, the artists of Avenue Q attack relevant social stereotypes such as homophobia, racism, and gender. Connections from Avenue Q can be made to the recent NY Times article titled “It’s Not Me, It’s You.”, which addresses intelligence and the stereotype threat.…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lesbian and gay sexual identities were largely non-existent in 1990s television and film (Kielwasser and Wolf 1992; Dyer 1984) and although queer identity narratives are becoming more overtly prevalent (Myer and Wood 2013), The Kids Are All Right and The Fosters are evidence these representations are narrow. These productions are both examples of the increasing lesbian representation in mainstream pop culture and both shape visibility through assimilating any points of difference to blend into the mainstream. In doing so, same-sex parents problematically signify as heterosexual emulations to effectively normalize queerness (Gross 2001; Gamson 2005; Walters 2001). Presenting a discourse of normality, these productions dispute the foundations against lesbian motherhood, yet it is a problematic representation of lesbian parenting.…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Oliver's observations changed my views on this issue dramatically and refuted my strong belief that decades of more open discussion of transgender persons' problems by popular media managed to ensure their cultural acceptance in the same way as educative attempts made by media over last decades helped to reduce cultural prejudices against bisexuals or homosexuals. This comedian also challenged my belief that decades of discussion of this issue by media would inevitably result in substantial increase in awareness about transgender people and their needs. Nevertheless, contrary to my beliefs, many people who regularly appear on television still lack basic knowledge about transgender people what in turn demonstrates that American popular culture is still not ready to treat all people equally without regard to their gender identity.…

    • 321 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chiron And Culture

    • 892 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The film shows that homophobia is still present and that it can negatively affect people’s…

    • 892 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Latham, Don. "Melinda 's Closet: Trauma and the Queer Subtext of Laurie Halse Anderson 's Speak." Children 's Literature Association Quarterly. 2006. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. .…

    • 3346 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    This is a divisive strategy that aims to produce a consumable queer, fit for a mainstream audience. Subsequently, this strategy risks straight culture subsuming both lesbians and the queer community (Moody 2011). To subsume lesbian and queer culture would erode the common political identity that allows for community organization against heterosexism. Like bell hooks (1992) contends, “Communities of resistance are replaced by communities of consumption” (33). Effectively, the apolitical representation of lesbianism obliterates the movement’s historical allegiance to working class culture, butches, interracial socializing and feminism (Moody 2011). Both productions exemplify this shift from queer sexuality to homonomative-domestic lesbian, although The Kids Are All Right epitomizes this because it fails to acknowledge the oppressive culture and diverse identities. Homonormative representations normalized the broader lesbian community and foster…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Weapons Training

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Homophobia is negative feelings and attitudes towards homosexuality. It is represented in line four with the rhetorical question ‘are you queer?’ it is representing a sense of hostility towards the homosexuals by asking that question.…

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Like-Me Theory

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Critical to understanding the function of gay writers and activists during the AIDS crisis is acknowledging the actions of the media during that time. The ways in which society perceives an event is often dictated by the media’s coverage of that event; additionally, large-scale awareness of an event is engendered by whether or not mainstream media is bringing it to the attention of the majority. The attitude of news sources toward an event as well as the ways in which it is covered affect how it is perceived by society. Subtle rhetoric choices, sensationalizing issues, and point of view are all tools of the media that can shift and mold how issues are nationally viewed and received. At the onset of the AIDS crisis it became clear what the…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Stereotypes In True Blood

    • 1482 Words
    • 6 Pages

    With drama-series like The Fosters, Orange Is The New Black, Game of Thrones, Glee, True Blood, The Modern Family, and Sense8, among others, queer characters have begun to slowly gain prominence outside the borders of the stereotypical white gay male. Slowly, representation is being found, and the blanket hiding difficult subjects from sight is carefully being pulled back. In True Blood, gay cook and man of color Lafayette Reynolds confronts a white man when the man declines to eat his burger, claiming it might have aids. In Sense8, Amanita, a queer woman of color, defends her trans girlfriend from the rude remarks made by transphobic friends. Shows like these are providing characters that queer people can relate to on some level, and they are knocking on the ice wall of the heterosexual, cisgender binary. Documentaries like I Am Jazz, I Am Cait, and The T Word showcase lives of transgender individuals and what it is like to be trans, providing both a source of information and a real-life look at what goes on in the world around a transgender…

    • 1482 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Firs of all, before starting to discuss this topic, it is very important to understand such terms as ‘a sexual minority ‘ and ‘homophobia ’ properly, because they are often misinterpreted.…

    • 1274 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Brokeback Mountain

    • 1516 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The concept of homosexuality has been explored by society for many years and is not a new concept. Gay roles portraying homosexuals as people with the same drives and desires as heterosexual people have only begun to surface in the last few decades. Roles showing lesbian women and transgender seem to have been more widely accepted especially when they are used as humor. The role of the gay man in film and in society seems to be widely accepted when those roles are opposed or when the stereotype of a gay man is needed to inject some humor. Homosexuals are only now receiving the same attention that other controversial roles have received without the extreme criticism in the past.…

    • 1516 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Homophobia Pros And Cons

    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The definition of "Homophobia is the range of negative attitudes and feelings towards homosexuality or people who are perceived to be homosexual. In the United States, social disapproval of homosexuality is not evenly distributed throughout society. That being said, it is more or less pronounced according to age, ethnicity, geographic location, race, sex, social class, education, political identification, and religious status ("Homophobia ")". "Significantly, sexual orientation does not only refer to one's sexual practices, but also includes a psychological component, like the direction of an individual's erotic desire." Sex "Sexual identity refers to an individual's conception of their own sexuality, while sexual behavior limits one's understanding of sexuality to behaviors performed. "("Sexual Orientation ")". People are…

    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Homosexuals have always been and probably will be under attack for years to come. The majority of people in society is heterosexual and will always look at homosexuality and people who engage in homosexual behaviors as wrong. Heterosexism in today society is considered the norm and there are many form of it seen today. In today’s society men who are homosexuals are considered to be feminine. Robert Brannon, a psychologist suggests that being a man can be best summarized in four phrases. To quote one, “No Sissy Stuff! One may never do anything that even remotely suggests femininity” (pg 85). The way…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “If you think being gay is a choice, why don’t you try being gay, just for a while, to…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays