Sometimes essays feel obsolete or outdated after a few years, but this book that deals with queerbaiting (something that the queer community is soooo done with, and of course I'm including myself) has really interesting takes.

I honestly would recommend it to people that don't belong in the queer community because sometimes they struggle with "seeing" what we do. Maybe it'll be enlightening for them.

Queerbaiting is a term that those within fandom circles are mostly likely intimately acquainted with, while those on the outside have probably never heard of it. A simple definition is that queerbaiting entails the producer of a piece of media deliberately suggesting a queer relationship between characters that they have no intention of allowing to become canon. In practice, queerbaiting can be a very vague and often contentious area of fandom.

Queerbaiting and Fandom edited by Joseph Brennan aims to shed light on this subject by examining it from numerous angles. Well-known examples are looked at in detail – Supernatural‘s Destiel and Sherlock‘s Johnlock being particularly common examples – but there are also examinations of what queerbaiting can look like when it is focused on real people rather than fictional ones, and how the concept has emerged only in recent decades. This means that some fictional situations in older media – Xena Warrior Princess being a notable example – are not tarred by the queerbaiting label while similar modern examples are.

Queerbaiting and Fandom gave Sophie a lot to think about, particularly about how the meaning of a text is decided. Is the meaning of a text decided upon by the people that wrote and produced it, or by the viewers? What if those two meanings are at odds with one another? If the viewers get to interpret the meaning for themselves, can queer baiting exist or does the intent of producers still have meaning? Most of this is open to interpretation and the book was filled with valuable insights that helped her develop some of her own ideas about the subject.

Queerbaiting continues to be an ongoing area of debate in fandom circles and wherever producers and viewers interact. With LGBTQ characters becoming ever more mainstream, it’s a subject that won’t be going away any time soon and Queerbaiting and Fandom will be a valuable resource to anyone who wants to learn more about it.

I wanted to so bad to love this book because I'm passionate about queer issues (I'm a gay man) and fandom, but the academic voices were just so unbearably dry. It gets a one-star rating by default because I didn't even finish the book.

I found Queerbaiting and Fandom to be a very well crafted book on this subject, it was very useful in my academic research in cultural studies!

Such an important book on a topic that is so insidious in modern pop culture with supposedly pro-lgbtq+ art. I do wish I had realised it was more of an academic print run simply because it feels very difficult to recommend to my followers at the prize it currently stands even on ebook but if anyone has access via their libraries (local or university) I'd definitely suggest picking it up.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book received through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I jumped on this book as soon as I saw it. As a young adult, bisexual and active on a quite a lot of fandoms in social media, queerbaiting has always been something I have often heard about. I loved how this book analysed specific examples of shows that do these things only to get a bigger following. As someone who struggled to find representation, this is incredibly frustrating.

I enjoyed this book. While a bit more on the academic side, it takes the time to discuss terminology, definitions an history that contextualized the rest of the pieces.

This collection was interesting, although perhaps of more interested to the academic reader than the queer fan looking for representation or the casual slash fan--but the essays here will also give the latter some food for thought!

This book is important and timely, and does an excellent job bringing academic legitimacy to conversations that have been happening for a long time in digital and social media spaces. I would encourage the use of these chapters and thought pieces in courses dedicated to media and/or queer studies. This text is also of critical importance to the growing field of fan studies.

That said, especially in the first 100 pages, the volume felt a bit repetitive. While this is perhaps necessary groundwork in such a text that is the first of its kind, the chapters individually felt more compelling than the book as a whole.

Queerbaiting and Fandom was a fascinating and accessible study of how fandom reacts to queerbaiting, perceived and real. The format of the book was great - each academic chapter was followed by thought pieces that further explore the major topics of each chapter.
I enjoyed the various perspectives presented and have a much broader understanding of the relationship between creators and fans and the responsibility for representation that all creators should feel.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the University of Iowa Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Wonderful collection, which is no surprise as Brennan's work in fandom studies is always excellent, timely, and well-needed.

Great highlighting of fandom and the intentional queerbaiting instead of outright inclusion of LGBT people, which in 2020, is still a problem.

This collection of essays explores the theme of queerbaiting (enticing queer representation without delivering) in media.
The text was overall comprehensible, but at times too academic, with entire sentences composed of unattainable words to the lay man. I could see it being valuable to people in social or media studies, and to a lesser extent to people like me, fans who are interested in diving deeper into these topics.
Overall, I enjoyed the information presented and the way in which it was argued. However, as someone who was present in tumblr/fandom forums while the conversations of queerbaiting become more and more prevalent, not a lot was new information. But i did get a lot of new great information (e.g. assimilationist vs radical reading practices).
Some topics (Nick Jonas, shipping of real people) and particularly their presentation as queerbaiting was slightly weird - i do see where the author(s) was coming from but it seemed " a reach", for lack of a better term. The equalization of queerbaiting relating to Wincest and then to Destiel seemed... off.
There was some repetition with the same contextualization being made over and over, which is comprehensible since it is an anthology, but could've been edited better. upside: you can put this down and then pick it up whenever you wish. downside: you start skimming fast when you read it in one go.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC.
PS. There's one essay arguing how the previous roles of the actors influence how their characters are read and the effects that has on the show/movie and consequent societal repercussions of it. The Sherlock movies and the role of Stephen Fry in them are mentioned. Within the referenced argument, they mention his role as Wilde, and his defense of LGBTQ rights,, but not the fact that he is a gay man?? and very out for many years?? anyways that seemed ridiculous to exclude from that narrative.

This topic is one I have seen firsthand for years as a fan, which is why I chose to pick this book up. I've been baited by TV shows before, and seen this exact discourse play out multiple times.

I thought it was very fitting that the book started off with an instance of queerbaiting from the CW's Supernatural, as Supernatural is one of the most pervasive and persistent perpetrators of queerbaiting. It's been baiting Destial fans along for 10 years now, with literally no payoff at all.

I liked the points Brennan made about queerbaiting throughout the book, but I didn't feel like I learned anything new from it. I think this would work much better for someone who's not so familiar with the concept.

This book is a timely and accessible treatment of queerbaiting, which, as a queer person in fandom, is something that I feel pretty strongly about. I would perhaps have liked to have seen more analysis from a more varied sample pool, but then again it does cover the main culprits (Destiel and Johnlock!) so perhaps that's understandable. The writing is academic but not pretentious or particularly hard to read once you're used to it. Absolutely recommend and will be buying for those I know who have an interest in the topic!

I got an ARC of this book.

I have been hearing the term queerbaiting for a while, but no one ever explained it. I did a single google search which was enough for a definition to understand what others were saying. That was all of my knowledge of the subject before reading this book. Even then, this book made almost complete sense. The times it didn’t make sense was some of the authors used a lot of vocab words I didn’t know, which was exciting. I got to learn a lot of new words. It was also annoying. A lot of this book was accessible, it was so close to being a book that wasn’t academic to the point it alienated the people who wanted to read it. I’m mostly happy about new words, since it wasn’t every single piece, but a few paragraphs here or there.

I knew all but two of the focuses of the pieces included. Despite not knowing Sherlock or Overwatch, I was able to follow the ideas. Enough details were given to keep me in the loop without bogging down the piece with overly fluffy back story. Supernatural had a lot more backstory to it, but it tended to stay in the realm of important information for the piece. I was impressed with how quickly the authors were able to describe a show that has been on the air for so long and make it easier to digest.

There was a heavy focus on Supernatural and Sherlock, which makes sense considering how strong the evidence is for queerbaiting in those shows, but I wish there was more outside of those shows highlighted in longer pieces. Most of my favorite pieces were thought pieces. There was so much that got left out of the piece on Steven Universe for example. That could have easily been given the space of a chapter. Having the Steven Universe piece in particular piece did not allow the room for discussion of one character that is very obviously in love with another (there are multiple scenes where she displays jealousy over other relationships, admits to living her life for this other female character, and more). I would have loved to see how the author fit that into the puzzle. Then the books published around the series where one was even dedicated to trans and gender nonconforming youth. There were so many possibilities for the Steven Universe piece. I could have done with one less Sherlock or Supernatural piece to discuss a show that is incredibly queer in so many ways.

So most of my issues with this book was focus on shows I don’t enjoy (though I do have language for one reason I don’t like one of the shows now) and being forced to learn new words. Not bad for an anthology. Clearly the issues are on me with this one. I loved how much the authors got me to care and just how many citations there were. The only real issue I had with the book was the piece on Jonas. There were multiple graphically sexual comments made that were cited, but didn’t seem to actually further the discussion or really serve any purpose. Without those sexual comments, the point would have been just as strong. There is a reason I stopped following media sites of gay cis men, the graphic and often violent sexual comments about everyone no matter the subject. I could have dealt without that in an academic piece that was not about graphic and/or violent sexual comments.

This book couldn't be more timely. Although we are seeing more and more openly lgbtqia characters on tv and in movies, we are seeing this notion of "supposed" relationships and attraction being run through fandoms without being addressed on the show, sometimes by the showrunners themselves, especially at Hall H events and such. As the media becomes more and more consolidated into a few companies and they seek to gain access to more conservative and anti-free speech foreign markets, companies have retreated more and more into queerbaiting fans instead of giving them positive gay storylines that are overt, especially stories that can be easily edited out for export - like Korrasami, which though confirmed, could be easily killed for the Chinese market. While fandom runs wild with ideas, it also clashes with the producers when say, Valkyrie's bisexuality gets cut, even though fans were teased with it being in the final film. It's good to have a book like this so that we understand how we are manipulated into thinking that companies are pro-lqbtqia and tease us, their monetary motives might leave us with creative blue balls, and not to anyone's benefit in the long run.

I very much enjoyed this, though at times (due to the nature of the subject) it was a tad painful to read. Being the first academic book to consider queerbaiting in depth, care was taken to discuss the relevant terminology, its definitions and its history. Academic essays are interspersed with shorter, slightly more casual Thought Pieces each considering a particular example or genre.

Queerbaiting is definitely a concern at present, and it has been for some years. However, I very much hope that it's the result of a transition that will be of relatively short duration. I think the show "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995-2001) is a good marker of "before". As discussed in Holly Eva Katherine Randell-Moon's Thought Piece in this book, the cast and creatives made the Xena/Gabrielle relationship as queer as they could, given the refusal of The Powers That Be (TPTB) to allow anything explicitly queer. I strongly feel that "Good Omens" (2019) is a terrific indication of "after" or at least the way forward. I assume it was produced too late to be considered in this book, but I vividly remember watching it for the first time and suddenly realising, "This is actually queer, not queerbaiting." The show includes queerness in sexuality, romance and gender identity, particularly in but not limited to the two main characters, Crowley and Aziraphale. As soon as I realised that I was in such safe hands, I relaxed, and was so much better able to enjoy watching the rest of the show play out.

In between "Xena" and "Good Omens", there are a number of shows which tease the viewers and fans with queer subtext, or promises of queer characters, but never follow through with actual queer content. And the fans are no longer willing to give the producers a pass, as was done in the past with "Xena", because times are changing, our culture is evolving, and queer characters are far more welcome (or at least allowable) now.

There is a cautionary tale told by Leyre Carcas in the Thought Piece "Heterobaiting" on the show "Black Sails" (2014-17). As you would guess from the piece's title, "Black Sails" turned the whole notion of queerbaiting on its head. They teased us with the supportive, sexual, secretive relationship between the pirate Flint and the widow Miranda - before surprising us with a 2nd season episode that explicitly presented us with Flint's "true love", Miranda's husband Thomas. While many welcomed this, there was a harsh backlash, and it is reported that the inclusion of Thomas in future storylines was curtailed. I can only hope that TPTB decide to batten down the hatches and weather such backlashs in the future.

Meanwhile, the three shows that come in for the most criticism in this book are "Supernatural" (2005-?), Sherlock (2010-17?), and the "Harry Potter" universe (1997-?). My own fandom, BBC Merlin (2008-12), earns itself a few dishonourable mentions. Some of this is not comfortable reading; for example, the "Sherlock" showrunners and the fans who ardently insist on The Johnlock Conspiracy all seem to have their moments of behaving badly. And it hurts to see the beyond-fan-friendly actor Misha Collins ("Supernatural") quoted in the top and tail of the book's Introduction as an example of getting it wrong in his remarks. But no matter my discomfort, I couldn't really disagree with the main arguments presented.

While the main examples of queerbaiting came from TV shows and films, there was also discussion of finding it in celebrity culture, children's TV, Real Person Slash fan fiction, Japanese popular culture, talk show practices (i.e. the "fan art segment"), superhero comics and their alternate universes, video games, and the Eurovision Song Contest. So while some of this was dealt with fairly briefly in the Thought Pieces, I was pleased to feel that the notion of queerbaiting had been thoroughly aired!

Reality TV shows weren't considered - and it's interesting to me that some reality shows are ahead of the curve. For example, Australia's renovation show "The Block" (2003-?) included a gay couple in their first and their last seasons - and probably in some seasons in between, as well, though I haven't watched them all. Surely such "non-fictional" examples help pave the way for change in fictional shows.

And maybe it would have been nice for this book to include a few examples of TV shows and such which got it right, or are on the right path...? Or is such an approach not suitable in an academic tome?

I did very much appreciate Monique Franklin's essay "Queerbaiting, Queer Readings, and Heteronormative Viewing Practices". Franklin makes a good case for not throwing the baby out with the bathwater, as it were. There is value in keeping and enjoying queer subtext for its own sake, as well as increasing actual, visible queer representation. I might be showing my age, but I'm happy with queer subtext, as long as the text remains open and doesn't close off the queer possibilities that can be found there. One of the joys of the first season of "Merlin" was that the text was very open. We were free to ship anyone with anyone, without any contradiction from the text. It was only later that the creators began to pin down certain relationships. Though of course it cannot be denied that proper queer representation is vitally important, and "Merlin" is such a wasted opportunity in that regard, given that it so beautifully set up both the Merlin/Arthur and Guinevere/Lancelot relationships before insisting on canonical Arthur/Guinevere. TPTB could have taken it that way if they chose... Ah, well!

Here's to hoping that the need for considering queerbaiting is short-lived. Let's have queer subtext and queer text and just the whole queer shebang! It's time.

***I was granted an ARC of this via Netgalley from the publisher.***

Queerbaiting is a term that many outside of particular fandoms probably have not heard of but it is a term that is gaining more recognition from academics. In this book, Queerbaiting and Fandom edited by Joseph Brennan, the reader is provided with a number of essays and thought pieces on the subject. Queerbaiting, while still a term with fluid meaning, is generally when a promise of a homosexual relationship between to characters in a entertainment medium is hinted at through subtext but is never actually fulfilled in a way that is unambiguous, allowing those in charge of the medium to laugh it off or say it isn't intentional. This is usually done to lure in a queer audience but not offend its heterosexual audience. The essays in this book explore the history of the term queerbaiting, its effects on the fandom, and also look at queerbaiting in anime, cartoons and even of real life celebrities. The authors of the essays do a good job in explaining queerbaiting's appeal to the entertainment industry and why fandoms are fed up with it and speaking out about it. The essays providing historical context to the term were the best in my opinion and also the in-depth looks of queerbaiting in the popular TV shows Sherlock and Supernatural and in the persona of Nick Jonas. Being one of the first books on the topic, I think that is has set a good standard following analyses on the subject of queerbaiting.

Rating: 4 stars. Would recommend to a friend.

I really enjoyed a great many things about this book. Characters were fleshed out and the plot was well spaced. Some of the secondary storylines could've used a bit more page space but all in all an enjoyable read!

ETA: The PDF was terribly formatted with lots of typos and did not read well on my Kindle. You might want to fix that in a last-minute check somewhere.

I'd requested this book ages ago, and was highly gratified to see both the email of acceptance from NetGalley as well as the book drop into my NetGalley "Start Reading" section.

Imagine my surprise when I saw BBC Merlin touched upon in it------KIDDING LMAO I fully expected the show to make an appearance in the introduction itself (it's why I desperately wanted this book) and I was <i>NOT</i> disappointed. BBC Merlin (and Sherlock, but I digress) is the main reason that I was so very, very keen to read this set of essays. When I say not disappointed -- I mean it. I was NOT DISAPPOINTED.

I have always struggled with academic English so this reading was no different (made me feel utterly stupid by the end, but what else is new). However, it is so very gratifying to see academic papers on a subject that has been long discussed in fandom spaces.

I am still struggling to decipher some sentences but I don't mind, really. These essays were enlightening and thought-provoking and I do hope that one day I'll be able to articulate myself on the level of the authors in this book.