Brennan, Joseph (ed.), Queerbaiting and Fandom: Teasing Fans through Homoerotic Possibilities

Judith Fathallah

    Research output: Contribution to journalBook/Film/Article reviewpeer-review

    Abstract

    "In 2007, while giving a book talk, Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling revealed an interesting fact about beloved character Albus Dumbledore's love life. "Dumbledore is gay, actually," she said as the audience erupted in cheers. She added: "I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy." Though most fans initially praised the announcement, LGBTQ fans in particular questioned why the author chose to make it informally, while never actually writing explicitly gay characters into the storylines. As it turns out, this type of bait-and-switch is fairly common between fans and creators; there's even a term for it: "queerbaiting." In this first comprehensive examination of queerbaiting, fan studies scholar Joseph Brennan and his contributors examine cases like Rowling's to shed light on the exploitative industry practice of teasing homoerotic possibilities that, while hinted at, never materialize in the program narratives. Looking at everything from popular TV series to video games to children's programs, and more, these essayists--some of the biggest names in the emerging field of fan studies--explore the consequences of the misleading practice, both for fans and creators. The result is a first-of-its-kind collection that is sure to appeal equally to fan, queer, and media studies students and scholars"-- Introduction: A History of Queerbaiting / Joseph Brennan -- Part 1: Theoretical Perspectives -- 1. Queerbaiting 2.0: From Denying Your Queers to Pretending You Have Them / Emma Nordin -- 2. Queerbaiting, Queer Readings, and Heteronormative Viewing Practices / Monique Franklin -- Reclaiming Queerbaiting: A Call to Action / Elisabeth Schneider -- The Queer Temporalities of Queerbaiting / Evangeline Aguas"Heterobaiting": Black Sails and the Subversion of Queerbaiting Tropes / Leyre Carcas -- Part 2: Popular Case Studies -- 3. Supernatural: Wincest and Dean Winchester's Bisexual Panic / Emily E. Roach -- 4. The Gay Elephant Meta in the Room: Sherlock and the Johnlock Conspiracy / E. J. Nielsen -- 5. "Watch This Space": Queer Promises and Lacunae in Rowling's Harry Potter Texts, or, Harry Potter and the Curse of Queerbaiting / Jennifer Duggan -- "Friends? Always": Queerbaiting, Ambiguity, and Erasure in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child / Cassie Brummitt and Kieran Sellars -- Queerying Subtext and Fandom in Xena: Warrior Princess / Holly Eva Katherine Randell-Moon -- From Canon to Politics: Queerbaiting and The CW's Supergirl / Michael McDermott -- Part 3: Wider Contexts and Aligned Subjects -- 6. Celebrity Queerbaiting / Joseph Brennan and Michael McDermott -- 7. What Was Missing: Children's Queerbaiting and Homoromantic Exclusion in Adventure Time and Steven Universe / Bridget Blodgett and Anastasia Salter -- Hollywood Queerbaiting and the (In)Visibility of Same-Sex Desire / Guillaume Sirois -- Queerbaiting and Real Person Slash: The Case of Larry Stylinson / Clare Southerton and Hannah McCann -- Queerbaiting and Beyond: Japanese Popular Culture and Queer Politics / Divya Garg -- Cultural Reinforcement: Queerbaiting and the Fan Art Segment / Danielle S. Girard -- Multiversal Queerbaiting: Alan Scott, Alternate Universes, and Gay Characters in Superhero Comics / Christoffer Bagger -- Queerbaiting in Video Games: A Case Study of Overwatch / Mary Ingram-Waters and Isabela Silva -- This One Loves That One: Queerbaiting at the Eurovision Song Contest / Jessica Carniel
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)430-432
    Number of pages3
    JournalCritical Studies in Television
    Volume15
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 17 Nov 2020

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Brennan, Joseph (ed.), Queerbaiting and Fandom: Teasing Fans through Homoerotic Possibilities'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this