CULTURE by Carlos Fuentes
QUEER BAITING 101 WHY QUEER BAITING IS WRONG
G
ay men are continuously being
comprehend the harmful effects of
mock and gain attraction from larger
mocked throughout multiple
queerbaiting online. One of the conse-
audiences. In other words, exhibiting
media platforms. We are drawn to be
quences being the reinforcement of
queer behavior is meant to be funny
over feminized and dramatized for
negative stereotypes of gay men; it
and attractive. The reality for a lot of
the amusement of viewers. However,
starts a chain reaction of homopho-
queer individuals is the opposite; they
in the real world, little boys are being
bic slurs that are harmful to the queer
are victims of hate crimes endorsed by
bullied in schools for ‘acting’ gay. And
community. A common reaction on
stereotypes that showcase them as a
in an ironic turn of events, those same
Tiktok is people attacking the queer
joke. They are attacked and judged for
bullies are going online and queer bait-
community while giving heterosex-
the same behavior straight people are
ing on platforms like TikTok to gain
uals a pass from being ridiculed and
idolized for in the media.
attraction.
celebrating them as comedians. A
Queer baiting is the practice
person pretending to be queer for
queer baiting, they start to invali-
of implying queer attraction or rela-
views should not be mistaken as an
date LGBTQ stories. Fake coming-
tionships to engage with the LGBTQ
ally to the LBGTQ community. They
out videos are produced by people
community. A lot of influencers and
are only enforcing harmful and false
who later confess they’re straight.
celebrities are guilty of this practice,
stereotypes that belittle queer people.
Videos like these invalidate queer
which has made queer baiting a trend
Capitalizing on a marginalized group
people because it labels coming out
throughout many social media plat-
only further disconnects them from
as a joke. There is nothing funny about
forms. TikTok is a major platform
society. Queer baiting does not make
coming out; it can be traumatizing and
where queer baiting is performed on
queer behavior socially acceptable
anxiety-driven due to fear of rejec-
a daily basis. Those on the front lines
because of the internalized homopho-
tion. Straight people fail to realize they
of queer baiting are straight cis-gen-
bia within queer baiting. There are
are enacting and pushing homopho-
dered men who have a history of using
places where being gay is illegal, yet
bic ideals by mocking queer people in
homophobic slurs.
ironically heterosexuals are given a
their videos.
The performance of queer-
pass to perform and present as queer
baiting capitalizes and profits from the
for entertainment. Thus, queer people
continue is encouraging toxic behavior
lives of queer people. Tiktokers fail to
become skits for straight people to
to fly under the radar without reper-
When straight people start
Allowing queer baiting to
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