queerbaiting
Americannoun
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Slang. a marketing technique involving intentional homoeroticism or suggestions of LGBTQ+ themes intended to draw in an LGBTQ+ audience, without explicit inclusion of openly LGBTQ+ relationships, characters, or people.
Television programs need to start openly depicting queer characters, because I'm tired of the queerbaiting.
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Also queer-baiting acts of anti-LGBTQ+ provocation, especially in speech and writing, including hate speech, threats, and other forms of harassment targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
Etymology
Origin of queerbaiting
First recorded in 1955–60 queerbaiting for def. 2; 2010–15 queerbaiting for def. 1; queer ( def. ) + -baiting ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The musician has never been explicit about his sexuality, which has led to some to accuse him of queerbaiting: the hinting of queerness as a marketing tactic.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2022
“Noah Beck Tries Things” undertakes a version of this as well with queer collaborators, striking given that one of the most frequent critiques of Beck during his rise has been of queerbaiting.
From New York Times ● Dec. 23, 2021
All of this perfectly encapsulates how queerbaiting works.
From Slate ● Jun. 15, 2021
But others see in the very existence of queerbaiting an improvement in the media representation of gay relationships.
From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2019
Today, that tradition of subtext has evolved into a more overtly strategic tactic: queerbaiting.
From The Verge ● May 29, 2018
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
