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In the past several years, “queerbaiting” has become a controversial term used by fans to accuse popular TV shows of falsely misleading LGBT audiences. What is queerbaiting, you ask?
Queerbaiting is the practice to hint at, but then to not actually depict, a same-sex romantic relationship between characters in a work of fiction, mainly in film or television. The potential romance may be ignored, explicitly rejected or made fun of. — Wikipedia
Queerbaiting, in my opinion, is a concept that’s hard to grasp without giving a real-world example of it. So, before we even ask ourselves whether or not it’s real, let’s first take look at a TV show that has been widely criticized for it: Supernatural.
If you’re unfamiliar with the series, Supernatural has been around for a loooong time and features two brothers, Sam and Dean (played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles), who like to hunt monsters. In season four, the angel, Castiel (played by Misha Collins) is introduced. Originally, Collins was only supposed to guest star, but his popularity with fans and sizzling chemistry with the cast eventually made him a regular for many seasons to come.
Almost immediately, fans of the show couldn’t help but notice the interesting dynamic between Dean and Castiel. Not only does Castiel rescue Dean from the depths of hell, but time and time again, he…
