In the 21st century, we often celebrate “political correctness” and tolerance to different identities, but, somewhere along the way, have we unintentionally increased intolerance? The queer community has a history of being shamed, harassed, and ignored. Today, we have pride parades, queer media, and increasing amounts of acceptance, though the rise in hate crimes and backlash against people in the transgender community shows that homophobia still persists. Despite these setbacks, people are more inclined to call out homophobic behavior and stand up for the queer community. However, society’s new embrace of the queer community has led some to harass public figures over their sexuality while hiding behind a stance of “moral righteousness.”
People police celebrities' portrayal of gender and sexuality by accusing them of a behavior known as “queerbaiting.” This term has evolved in recent years. According to James Factora in an article in Them magazine, the term initially was defined as “‘the practice of implying non-heterosexual relationships or attraction (in a TV show, for example) to engage or attract an LGBTQ audience or otherwise generate interest without ever actually depicting such relationships or sexual interactions.’” In other words, queerbaiting occurred when a program offered queer portrayals for their own profit rather than to authentically promote representation. Factora points out that the term has more recently broadened to include “just about anyone who’s seen as making themselves seem like they’re LGBTQ+ when they’re not.” This broader use of the term has put individual celebrities, not just programs, in the crosshairs of queerbaiting accusations. People either “call out” and “cancel” celebrities for not coming out as queer, or they criticize them for intentionally “behaving” in a way that may be perceived as queer for the purpose of generating more attention from fans.
It seems like a well-meaning word, right? To be sure, the accusation can serve a valid purpose when it is leveled against a large media company’s production, like a television series, but it is more problematic when aimed at individual celebrities who are pushing the bounds of binary ways of thinking about gender and sexuality.
A prime example of the accusation of “queerbaiting” is the controversy around pop sensation Harry Styles’ sexuality. Styles often performs while waving pride flags and wearing feminine clothing, not conforming to notions of traditional masculinity. People often assume that he must be queer. But because Styles has never confirmed or denied this assumption, some have accused him of being a straight man who is queerbaiting to gain more attention. Did you notice anything strange about that accusation? The people who criticize Styles righteously imply that he owes it to them to declare his sexuality. The New York Times even published an opinion piece titled “Harry Styles Walks a Fine Line” arguing that “Mr. Styles’ performance (and exorbitant ticket prices) makes his identity our business.”
But why should a celebrity, someone whose media you choose to interact with, be required to tell you about every aspect of their identity? Intrusive, public speculation about someone’s identity is not only rude, it is an act of intolerance that is based on false, overly narrow assumptions about gender and sexuality. People who charge Styles with queerbaiting assume either that he can’t possibly be straight or that he is “lying” to fans about his sexuality as a bid for attention. They do not understand that Styles may be using his performances to raise important questions by encouraging his audiences to question binary ways of thinking about gender and sexuality.
Unfortunately, Styles is not the only pop star to be on the receiving end of “queerbaiting” accusations that seek to create rigid rules about what is acceptable when it comes to a person exploring sexuality and gender. In 2021, the internet slammed Billie Eilish, a 22-year-old artist, with queerbaiting accusations over her music video for “Lost Cause.” The song is about breaking up with a loser ex-boyfriend, and the music video showed Eilish and her girl friends having a sleepover. The music video contained some sensual moments among the girls that made internet critics cry “queerbaiting!” Eilish had never publicly talked about her sexuality before the video, and after the controversy, in an interview with Elle magazine, she asserted her right to privacy, stating, “My sexuality! Like, oh yeah, that's everyone else's business, right? No.” Those who harassed Eilish were claiming to “protect” the queer community from “rainbow capitalism,” which is another word for queerbaiting, but all they were doing was intolerantly curtailing Eilish’s creative expression of her own sexuality.
Celebrity actors have also been attacked with accusations of queerbaiting, such as Kit Connor, who played Nick in “Heartstopper,” a Netflix TV show. His character experiences the homophobia of a British all-boys school while figuring out his own bisexual identity. Connor was loudly criticized for “queerbaiting” since he did not identify as queer publicly when the show came out. The accusations got more heated as photos of Connor holding hands with a female co-star from his upcoming movie surfaced. Many internet critics claimed he took away opportunities from “actually” queer actors by playing a queer character. At the height of the bullying, Connor took to X (then Twitter) to say, “I'm bi. Congrats for forcing an 18-year-old to out himself. I think some of you missed the point of the show. Bye.”
The true purpose of the show was to show that queerness does not have one look or stereotype, and that everyone deserves the chance to come out when they are ready to. Forcing celebrities to comment on their sexuality publicly, which is an incredibly personal matter, runs counter to efforts to free people to explore and express their sexuality and leads to a more intolerant society, not a more equal one. To put it simply, unless a celebrity wants the world to know their sexuality, they should not have to divulge that information. Attacking celebrities’ personal lives behind a mask of moral high ground should no longer be tolerated.