queerbaiting

noun

queer·​bait·​ing ˈkwir-ˌbā-tiŋ 

variants or less commonly queer-baiting or queer baiting

1

a

: an effort to appeal to LGBTQ+ audiences through a character or figure whose sexual orientation is ambiguous : gay-baiting sense 2a

… the third and final film in the franchise only furthered fans' claims of queerbaiting, going so far as to use a video of Beca and Chloe almost kissing as promo for the film …

—Angelica Martinez

… many fans felt that the show did a bit too much of dangling a possible queer relationship … while never actually going all the way. Despite these accusations of "queerbaiting," fans still found they couldn't get enough of these characters and their strong bond.

—Brianna Zigler

b

: the act of encouraging speculation that one is queer (see queer entry 1 sense 2) despite not openly being so : gay-baiting sense 2b

… so fun to watch back during her "I Kissed a Girl" era. … She leaned into the agita around her queerbaiting with her lyrics, her music videos, and with her broader persona.

—Scaachi Koul

2

: the act of associating someone with homophobic stereotypes in order to damage their image or credibility especially for political purposes : gay-baiting sense 1

Quentin Crisp, writing in the 1960s, noted that "Queer-baiting … has not vanished" but "has fallen into the hands of younger and younger boys." … [G]aybashing used to be the exclusive province of adult men, but … became an act teenage boys were far more likely to commit.

—Hamish Copley

queer bait intransitive verb

or queerbait

ˈkwir-ˌbāt 

queer baited or queerbaited; queer baiting or queerbaiting; queer baits or queerbaits

She directly denied she would queer bait when responding to a … theory that she and Katy Perry would kiss in the video … (They ultimately hugged in a show of friendship.)

—Alyssa Bailey

… writers have been queerbaiting and expecting viewers to believe these characters are just friends.

—Hayley Spencer

queer bait noun

Disney's tendency to tease its audiences with queer bait, only to yank those readings away (or have them be blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments between background characters) is well-documented.

—Faefyx Collington

queer baiter noun

plural queer baiters

Is the 28-year-old rap artist … who has reportedly dated a woman for several years but favors gender-vague fashion in his public appearances and also kissed one of his male backup dancers during a performance … a queer baiter?

—Mark Harris

Word History

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined at sense 2