What media is the worst offender of queerbaiting?

[MiharuAya]

Definition:
Queerbaiting is a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but then do not depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation.

The reality:
It is considered a harmful marketing technique that often takes a toll on the viewer's mental health. Through plots, characters, imagery, lyrics, social media posts, and interview answers, a director, author, writer, or producer will draw in LGBTQ+ people with the promise that there's going to be positive queer representation, but then they never fulfill that representation. This lack of representation and visibility can feel invalidating.

So, what piece of media has been the worst offender of queerbaiting in your opinion?

 

[PaulaVonMalotki]

There was an awful german movie about a trans girl...
... but it was essential about the transhating cis father locked in his heteronormative ego and how he "dealt with it".. not at all a enlightening experience for him in my opinion
Gee, even the fucking movie's title was deadnaming the trans girl.. so.. yeah.. it was that bad

 

[Sorrelfur]

The ones that come to mind for me are

John x Sherlock from the TV show Sherlock it felt like they were always teasing people with how close the two were. And I even heard the TV show was based on an adaption of Sherlock where he was gay so that further annoyed me.

Stiles x Derek, ooooooh this boils my blood, I swear those writers were doing it on purpose, setting up scenes with them, leading people on and the BAM nothing. I ended up just not watching the show anymore cause I was so annoyed

I could go on with a few more I feel were queerbaiting but these two are the ones that always pop into my mind and piss me off. I remember years ago there were a bug show that queerbaited and people were pissed, as was I, but can't remember the name

 

[Fluffy]

Ugh yeah, I'm with Sorrelfur on the Sherlock one... That one made me feel salty. Probably going to be salty about it forever.

The biggest one of all for me personally is Falcon and Winter Soldier. .___. They were so gay with each other in that show but oh nooo they're just "REALLY GOOD FRIENDS". Oh okay sure, let's go with that even though they interlocked their legs, did soul gazing, did a cute romantic rollyroll down a hill and landed ROMANTICALLY AT THE END OF IT. Fuck you, Disney! You suck!
FFFFFFF-- *screeches demonically and gnaws on a table leg*

 

[foodforpigs]

I didn't see it (maybe I was just blind to it), but apparently Finn and Poe from the Star Wars franchise is cited as an example of queerbaiting. I do feel that a lot more of their relationship could've been expanded in general, and have Finn, Poe and Rey have screen time together. I think a Finn/Poe relationship could've worked though. They were incredibly chummy. I'd be curious what others have to say about it.

 

[Fluffy]

I didn't see it (maybe I was just blind to it), but apparently Finn and Poe from the Star Wars franchise is cited as an example of queerbaiting. I do feel that a lot more of their relationship could've been expanded in general, and have Finn, Poe and Rey have screen time together. I think a Finn/Poe relationship could've worked though. They were incredibly chummy. I'd be curious what others have to say about it.

Oh gods I appreciate you bringing this one up. I can't believe I forgot to mention this one. I even have an art piece of these two being very cute together because I adore this ship.

Anyway, yeah, even Jar Jar Abrams himself was like "HMM, MAYBE QUEERNESS, TEEHEE, WATCH AND SEE~" when people asked about it. (You tease. How dare you.) Oscar Isaacs was way on board with it, too. was And then it turned out to not be a thing. I wonder if the fiasco with Rian Johnson was a contributing factor... Because that guy was basically a kid with a bunch of Star Wars toys doing whatever he wanted. (But I'll stop there because I am one of those nerds who hates the sequels and will go on and on. Lmao.)

It really is too bad because of what a heartwarming story their relationship has. From the get-go, they had this real connection that I thought was going to go somewhere. They were together in the start when Finn escaped his Trooper lifestyle, they had all these flirty ways about them I noticed, they even have that really nice hug during that one scene that feels very beyond friendship to me. Their dynamic is something to admire also because Finn is this nervous uncertain cutie pie while Poe is this charming roguish man who's like "don't worry baby~" Both characters felt relatable, also, and that made me want to keep watching them too. (But again, the movies got...bad.) They could have had one of those lovely things going where even though there are all these conflicts, we still find time for love. And even though their relationship should technically be forbidden, who cares?

Completely missed opportunity not only for a queer relationship but for character development. :[

 

[Diana]

-KICKS DOWN THE DOOR-

SUPERNATURAL WITH DEAN AND CASTIEL AND SENDING CASTIEL TO GAY TURBO HELL. >:[

 

[MiharuAya]

-KICKS DOWN THE DOOR-

SUPERNATURAL WITH DEAN AND CASTIEL AND SENDING CASTIEL TO GAY TURBO HELL. >:[

Yesssss! This was the worst imo. The writers played into it so much, and totally knew what they were doing with a lot of those scenes. The actors even played it up when they went to cons.

I think my first memory of this was with Sasuke and Naruto. I was probably being a bit naive, but I just always thought that they should have ended up a couple. They had so much more passion for each other. I mean, what normal friend is willing to go through all that for another? And they even kissed!

 

[LuckycoolHawk9]

Stiles x Derek, ooooooh this boils my blood, I swear those writers were doing it on purpose, setting up scenes with them, leading people on and the BAM nothing. I ended up just not watching the show anymore cause I was so annoyed

You know what the worst thing about seeing all of Teen Wolf is? Knowing that's not even the worst example. We got a lot of ScottxStiles bait as well and then we got Theo RakenxLiam Dunbar who were defintely more of a bait than any other ship in that series.

Also, since someone said Marvel, we also have Steve and Bucky along with LokixMoribus as queerbait offenders.

 

[Sorrelfur]

Stiles x Derek, ooooooh this boils my blood, I swear those writers were doing it on purpose, setting up scenes with them, leading people on and the BAM nothing. I ended up just not watching the show anymore cause I was so annoyed

You know what the worst thing about seeing all of Teen Wolf is? Knowing that's not even the worst example. We got a lot of ScottxStiles bait as well and then we got Theo RakenxLiam Dunbar who were defintely more of a bait than any other ship in that series.

Also, since someone said Marvel, we also have Steve and Bucky along with LokixMoribus as queerbait offenders.

So trueeee they were queerbaiting and mf right in that damn show like wtf?!

 

[LuckycoolHawk9]

So trueeee they were queerbaiting and mf right in that damn show like wtf?!

It's especially weird when you know the creator was gay. Like how was Teen Wolf not the gayest show ever made?

Also, Once Upon A Time was the true master of queerbaiting with Emma Swan and Regina Queen, especially considering that lasted for over four seasons.

 

[Sorrelfur]

I

So trueeee they were queerbaiting and mf right in that damn show like wtf?!

It's especially weird when you know the creator was gay. Like how was Teen Wolf not the gayest show ever made?

Also, Once Upon A Time was the true master of queerbaiting with Emma Swan and Regina Queen, especially considering that lasted for over four seasons.

I wonder if the creator wanted to have some lgbt relationships but maybe whoever was above them said no? Like the audience clearly wanted it but since when do production companies or such actually listen