yes, but some people need to stop labelling any feminine trait in a man as being queerbaiting

People that claim that "queer baiting doesn't exist in real life people" forget that, even tho we're talking about actual people and not fiction, the discussion is always related to their online/career persona.

If you are a straight individual, and you work with a queer related project, you're not queer baiting just by acting queer. However, if off-screen you still play off what people would expect you do if you were actually from the community, in a very performative way, or in a similar way that your character would, it's queer baiting in my opinion. You know your audience wants you to be the character that you're playing, and you're making bank on making people feel that fantasy even outside the show/movie/music, you're literally known only because you are the gay character. It's a bit strange to me, and I don't really like that. There is nothing wrong in being playful, but there are moments that are way more than just acting little british cigar-ish. At the end of the day, the actor can just act straight again and won't have to face any of the problems that queer people face daily, in a similar way to blackfishing.

Edited February 1Feb 1 by KaledKalil

2 minutes ago, jeauseph said:

wait @Born to Run not you too please lmk why everyone's acting confused reacts I think I actually need to sleep soon I'm panicking

Sis it's just a reaction.

OT: Rule of thumb you can't queerbait if you're ugly.

Just now, Bloo said:

If a person is explicitly changing how they publicly identify sexually to chase an audience, then that's queerbaiting.

If a person is expressing themselves outside the gender binary (e.g., Harry Styles wearing a dress), then that's not queerbaiting; that is you imposing the gender binary on a person and accusing them of wrongdoing for not sticking within it.

Okay, so Harry Styles is a queerbaiter because he pretends to have a different sexuality, not because he wears dresses.

Am I getting this right?

Edited February 1Feb 1 by Genie in a Bottle

Just now, Genie in a Bottle said:

If I could ship you some of my unused ambien bottles I would sis, just put on some relaxing ASMR and try to sleep

thank you my friend (the cute girl who's sleeping over) has grad school stuff she has to do later today she was telling me about and I'm so energized that I'm lowkey jealous that she has assignments the understimulation is REAL honey

2 minutes ago, Born to Run said:

Sis it's just a reaction.

OT: Rule of thumb you can't queerbait if you're ugly.

okay I'm sorry I'm like overthinking everything rn. hope your day has been nice so far

3 minutes ago, Genie in a Bottle said:

Okay, so Harry Styles is a queerbaiter because he pretends to have a different sexuality, not because he wears dresses.

Am I getting this right?

Harry Styles doesn’t pretend to have a different sexual orientation. He has just chosen to not publicly state his sexual orientation and that’s a fair boundary for any person. No one is owed your sexual identity. Thinking you’re owed that information is beyond parasocial.

Yes, but some also absurdly call posting a lot of thirst traps queerbaiting

Just now, Bloo said:

Harry Styles doesn't pretend to have a different sexual orientation. He has just chosen to not publicly state his sexual orientation and that's a fair boundary for any person. No one is owed your sexual identity. Thinking you're owed that information is beyond parasocial.

So you would be one of the people who claim Harry Styles is NOT a queerbaiter.

Okay I think this topic really just comes down to a matter of subjective opinion because I can not get a straight answer out of anyone, no pun intended.

4 minutes ago, Bloo said:

If a person is explicitly changing how they publicly identify sexually to chase an audience, then that's queerbaiting (see Timothy Champagne). This is relatively rare. No, a celebrity not wanting to label their identity to the broader public is not equivalent because we are not owed people's sexual identity.

If a person is expressing themselves outside the gender binary (e.g., Harry Styles wearing a dress), then that's not queerbaiting; that is you imposing the gender binary on a person and accusing them of wrongdoing for not sticking within it.

Oh give me a break.

A straight man like Harry wearing dresses and being purposely vague about his sexuality is a perfect example of queerbaiting, he knows exactly what he's doing.

To say real people can't queerbait is absolutely ridiculous.

13 minutes ago, KaledKalil said:

People that claim that "queer baiting doesn't exist in real life people" forget that, even tho we're talking about actual people and not fiction, the discussion is always related to their online/career persona.

If you are a straight individual, and you work with a queer related project, you're not queer baiting just by acting queer. However, if off-screen you still play off what people would expect you do if you were actually from the community, in a very performative way, or in a similar way that your character would, it's queer baiting in my opinion. You know your audience wants you to be the character that you're playing, and you're making bank on making people feel that fantasy even outside the show/movie/music, you're literally known only because you are the gay character. It's a bit strange to me, and I don't really like that. There is nothing wrong in being playful, but there are moments that are way more than just acting little british cigar-ish. At the end of the day, the actor can just act straight again and won't have to face any of the problems that queer people face daily, in a similar way to blackfishing.

thank you

4 minutes ago, Genie in a Bottle said:

So you would be one of the people who claim Harry Styles is NOT a queerbaiter.

Okay I think this topic really just comes down to a matter of subjective opinion because I can not get a straight answer out of anyone, no pun intended.

There will always be a few people who disagree but the vast majority of ATRL sees Harry for what he is, a queerbaiter, which is why there was a landslide in the last poll.

Charlie Puth is another clear example. So the answer to the thread is yes, queerbaiting is absolute real.

4 minutes ago, CaptainMusic said:

Oh give me a break.

A straight man like Harry wearing dresses and being purposely vague about his sexuality is a perfect example of queerbaiting, he knows exactly what he's doing.

To say real people can't queerbait is absolutely ridiculous.

It’s only ridiculous to you if you think straight men must wear suits and ties and can’t step outside that box. If you have such a restrictive view of gender where only queer people can play with gender, then you’re bound to think that.

But, again, what you’re discussing is well out of line with what the term was even created to describe. Let’s just refer to the simple description of Queerbaiting from Wikipedia:

Queerbaiting is a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but do not depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation.^[5] The purpose of this method is to attract ("bait") a queer or straight ally audience with the suggestion or possibility of relationships or characters that appeal to them,^[6] while not alienating homophobic members of the audience or censors by actually portraying queer relationships.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queerbaiting

Harry Styles wearing a dress is genderbending. Harry Styles not wanting to announce his sexual orientation or put a label on it is just a boundary.

9 minutes ago, Weld_E said:

Oh we can definitely tell you have a lot on your mind

I always do, it's kind of the Joe way. I'm like if Einstein was really dumb and impulsive and maybe even a smidgen sluttier than he probably was

57 minutes ago, jeauseph said:

I don't think I care enough right now to figure out an answer. the truth is: I turned 29 almost a month ago, I am bisexual, I am stressed out, I am manic, my financial situation is precarious, as you can see in my avi I just dyed my hair blue black, and I have a really cute girl sleeping in my bed right now. I am going to take a melatonin and try to sleep now too. what's f*cked is that my now ex roommate is stressing me out but I still care for him. I have too much on my mind to really answer this one for now but I love you all

Not this random crash-out lmaoo. I can relate in parts tbh. My DM is open if you need, bestie

Just now, Supervixen said:

Not this random crash-out lmaoo. I can relate in parts tbh. My DM is open if you need, bestie

thank you babe

Were you queerbaited by a straight man irl? You seem to be very passionate about this

56 minutes ago, glitch said:

Yes, the Harry Styles we see is a carefully curated character that a record label has come up with. Someone decided they wanted him to appear a certain way and appeal to a particular demographic that loves androgenous, sexually ambiguous men.

If Harry Styles was a regular person and just liked wearing dresses, then no he would not be a queerbaiter. But the context is important.

It's really as simple as that.

6 minutes ago, Rush said:

Were you queerbaited by a straight man irl? You seem to be very passionate about this

No, straight men disgust me, I don't know why there's a huge subset of gays that wanna flip them so badly

What I am very passionate about is having answers. And I still don't have a clear answer to this question.

Edited February 1Feb 1 by Genie in a Bottle

No. But us gays love to make things up to be mad about

it's a real thing that the gays and straight women obsessed with gays throw around, misuse and distort for internet points

just like most social issues

It's a frivolous topic if nothing else. There are more pressing issues than some rich celebrity's identity.

are there really people who are offended by this?

I'm not a fan of Harry Styles at all, and at times I find him as obnoxious as many of you do... However, I think that accusing him of 'queerbaiting' is just causing more harm than good. Him wearing dresses or acting fem may be outside of gender norms, but he never claimed or hinted at being gay or queer. Straight men can wear dresses and paint their nails too.

I hear what some of you are saying about his label wanting to market him a certain way, but how do you know he also isn't just expressing himself? You don't. Like maybe he genuinely likes being effeminate sometimes and that's just who he is. Could he be lying? Yes, but that's just a pill we have to swallow as a culture, otherwise we will be stuck in the rigid gender binary forever. Gatekeeping certain forms of expressions as 'for the gays' and 'for the straights' is not helpful and liberatory to us.

Some users here would argue yes, and would post this as proof