Queerbaiting

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"Queerbaiting" is a marketing practice that hints at, but does not depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation. According to scholars, cultural critics and fans, this is intended to attract ("bait") a queer or straight ally audience with the suggestion or possibility of queer relationships or characters, while not alienating homophobic members of the audience or censors by explicitly portraying those relationships or characters. Accusations of queerbaiting have been made towards films, television series, books, music, advertisements and other forms of media, but also towards celebrities who express an ambiguous sexual identity through their works and statements. However, the idea that real people can queerbait is an opinion of much contention.A common opinion is that a person's sexuality or gender identity is very private and not for public consumption in the same way a fictional work is.When applied to real people, queerbaiting is often used to harass public figures into outing...

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