"Queerbaiting and Fandom" is the first of its kind: a non-fiction book that contains various essays that look at queerbaiting on television, in films, and even marketing techniques of celebrities. In doing so, the essays focus on various popular examples such as Supernatural, BBC's Sherlock, as well as Harry Potter. It also takes a look at more left-field approaches, and examines the Eurovision Song Contest, as well as Nick Jones' possible queer-baiting.

The book starts with an introduction into what queerbaiting is and which tactic they prefer to use. Often dropping little hints or cultural references that a queer viewer can identify and build up hope that there might be a written queer character in the text at some point. At the same time, the producers deny such content or keep making vague hints like "watch this space".

Since this is a bound book, I have to presume that it is meant to be written for "everyone" but especially queer folks who are familiar with fandom culture. However, when reading, I could never shake the feeling that it had been a couple of bachelor thesis bound together. I am not referring to footnotes - which are perfectly valid in this context - but instead the tone remains very formal and high-educated throughout the whole book. Thus, I feel that someone who is interested in this topic but has not enjoyed a higher education or is still young, might find this harder to read and even stop halfway through.

Through this, it also does not become a "thrilling" read - for lack of better words. While there are passages that are more interesting to read, some chapters even felt repetitive. There are two who look at Harry Potter - one as the whole with focus on The Cursed Child, while another later in the book only looks at The Cursed Child.

Nevertheless, there is a lot of insight into queerbaiting on these pages. It also looks at sides outside of "traditional" fandom and as a simple marketing strategy: such as Eurovision - which is a very pro-LGBT event; where some bands play right into the queer theme to gain points. As well as celebrities using this to find another market: Nick Jonas had been used as a prime example.

There is also an importance to this book that comes from being the first to look at queerbaiting. There are no other writings with which to compare this, and it is a good book to have in libraries. Through the writing, you can get a peek at the topic and even helps to raise awareness to the practice. As well as offering different perspectives and popular examples that help in understanding. Because of this, I am glad that there is a consistent and published collection of essays about this topic.

As someone who reads and writes her share of fan fiction, I'm well aware of the powers of subtext and the palaces that fans can build upon their unsubstantial sands. However, I hadn't heard the term queer baiting which emerged in the 2010s and is used to describe "an industry tactic where 'those officially associated with a media text court viewers interested in LGBT narratives... without the text ever definitely confirming the nonheterosexuality of the relevant characters'" (6). In Queer Baiting and Fandom editor Joseph Brennan and contributors investigate this exploitative practice, distinguish it from both homoeroticism and subtext, and engage with the queer activism undertaken by fans.

The most valuable material for scholars can be found in the opening chapters, which investigate how the LGBT community has traditionally been marketed to, the frustration faced when authors/creators insist on a single meaning for a text, and the way queer baiting refuses to entirely reject queer readings in order to gain an audience. The tactics described in these chapters demonstrate how media creators keep (questionably) queer content palatable to so-called “mainstream” audiences, how imposing certain readings may be the only way for an audience to experience LGBT content, and how a transnational context may limit queer possibilities. For example, queerbaiting may allow studios to “get credit for having a queer character, without putting the studio or the film at risk” with markets that prohibit queer content (71). Most striking is the comment that queerbaiting expects “an LGBTQ audience to be satisfied with the bare minimum” of onscreen representation (29). The politics of representation, marginalization, and stereotypes are discussed at length.

Chapters in the book are dedicated to a wide range of subjects including the way that the creators of Supernatural welcome queer content as long as they can joke it away, “the Dumbledore controversy” that offers “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” fragments rather than much-needed representation, heterobaiting in Black Sails, Law and Order SVU, Sherlock, Xena: Warrior Princess and Supergirl. Later chapters turn to the “real world” queer baiting engaged in by celebrities and queer baiting in video games. As with all collections, the usefulness of each chapter will depend on the reader or scholar’s particular interests. However, this is an excellent start to a much-needed conversation, and one hopes other anthologies and monographs will follow its lead.

An excellent academic look at something that has been discussed by various levels of people through out. While any collection of essays about a particular topic will be a bit repetitive as each essay has to define the topic for themselves especially with a collection where people may not read it all the way through.

I thought the authors picked up on some certain areas that do need further reflection and study and is certainly a good read for anyone interested in culture or media.

I'm not gonna lie, I struggled a bit when I started it. I only ever read papers about biology, and sparingly, so I had trouble with the language at first. This is of course in part because I am no native speaker but I also don't think this rather dry style is for everybody.

So it's not the easiest thing to read but that's not what I expected considering the subject matter.
As a fan of many tv shows and other media and a queer person myself, queerbaiting is nothing new to me. I've read my fair share of posts and articles online but never any actual data or studies. This book filled this gap in my knowledge very well. It examines many points arguing for both sides, shows the effects it has on society and explains how producers are abusing such methods for money.
One detriment was definitely that every new essay redefines queerbaiting and the more you get into, the more repetitive it gets. I'd wished they had simply cut those parts out since they offered nothing new.
It just feels very nice to be validated and for "proper" scholars to tell you that you haven't been imagining this and this is not something to be ignored or forgotten like so many other problems.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher University of Iowa Press in exchange for an honest review.

This book was everything I could have wanted and more. I was extremely excited when I got an ARC of this as the subject matter is right up my street and I was really intrigued to learn more about it in general. Part of me was concerned though because I have requested similar books before and been disappointed by how dry they are. Thankfully this was not the case with this book.

Queerbaiting and Fandom is an incredibly comprehensive, insightful and all-round entertaining read. It is a collection of academic essays so be aware that it is written in that style rather than written for the purposes of entertaining the general public. However, I was very impressed by how readable and easy to follow all of the essays were. The essays themselves cover a wide range of fandoms and topic areas, some of which I wasn't expecting and ended up being a pleasant surprise. The obvious offenders are here-Supernatural, Sherlock and Harry Potter all have chapters to themselves. But there are also essays about Nick Jonas deliberately marketing himself to gay fans, the One Direction fandom shipping real-life celebrities and the Eurovision song contest encouraging queer flirting with its hosts. These were all surprising to me and I found them the most insightful essays in terms of introducing me to new knowledge and making me think about things I hadn't considered before.

The only minor niggle I had was a completely understandable one. Every essay must take the time to define queerbaiting and other terms that it refers to, but this was very repetitive when reading the whole collection. The first two chapters were dedicated to defining the term anyway so I feel that the essays could have been edited to remove the definitions for the purposes of this collection, especially since every author used the term in the same way.

Overall, I really recommend this book for anyone interested in the topic. I genuinely wish it was more widely available as I found it very entertaining and I have several friends I know would love to read it. If you can get your hands on a copy, then definitely take the opportunity to do so. I feel this is a book I will revisit several times in the future again.

Overall Rating: 5/5

Queerbaiting and Fandom is a collection of essays that explores and dissects issues with queer representation in modern media. The meaning of queerbaiting has shifted and been argued about over the years, and this book does a great job breaking down the evolution of the term and its effect on queer audiences. This would be a good read for lgbt readers experiencing frustration with queerbaiting in media, or for allies hoping to better understand the phenomena.

Was ok with the concept of the book and the content in it until I hit certain chapters who identified the smallest actions as queer baiting instead of actual legit random ass things. I do believe that companies are taking advantage of queer viewers because we make bank, but some of this content seems really focused on perspectives I do not understand but am willing to learn more about. Unfortunately it's not with this book. Especially because it dived into Wincest, which I never thought I would read in a serious collection of essays.

A definite advantage of having my sister as my sister: I’ve definitely become more socially aware because of her. One of the elements in which that was most the case? The representation and diversity that is (or – more often – isn’t) present in consumables. So, when I came across this book, which promised to really delve into that illustrous duo of queerbaiting and fandom? Why, I knew that I just had to read it!

I was offered an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are strictly my own.

The subject
In this first-ever comprehensive examination of queerbaiting and fandom, fan studies scholar Joseph Brennan and his contributors examine cases that shed light on the sometimes exploitative industry practice of teasing homoerotic possibilities that, while hinted at, never materialize in the program narratives. Through a nuanced approach that accounts for both the history of queer representation and older fan traditions, these essayists examine the phenomenon of queerbaiting across popular TV, video games, children’s programs, and more.

Contributors: Evangeline Aguas, Christoffer Bagger, Bridget Blodgett, Cassie Brummitt, Leyre Carcas, Jessica Carniel, Jennifer Duggan, Monique Franklin, Divya Garg, Danielle S. Girard, Mary Ingram-Waters, Hannah McCann, Michael McDermott, E. J. Nielsen, Emma Nordin, Holly Eva Katherine Randell-Moon, Emily E. Roach, Anastasia Salter, Elisabeth Schneider, Kieran Sellars, Isabela Silva, Guillaume Sirois, Clare Southerton

The opinion
Look, it can’t be denied – this book aims to give a first broad overview of the concept of queerbaiting and fandom. And it does so, you know? Throughout the various essays, you certainly get a good scope of the many ways and forms in which queerbaiting might be present in media. I especially appreciated that the authors don’t limit themselves to one genre, medium, or even era.

At the same time, though, this appeared to me to be almost this book’s downfall. In trying to be exhaustive – or at least: to come as close to it as possible? The authors seemed to, at times, lose track of what they were actually sharing. Of course, if you talk about a show which is still running, things might change between the moment of writing and that of publishing. In this case, in at least one show, a couple of queer characters have been added to the line up, which might have added to the wealth of this book.

What annoyed me more, however, was the fact that – at times – the authors seemed to miss the perspective of the fandom. Sure, queerbaiting is largely done by the producers of these media. But, as is so often mentioned, especially in the introduction: queerbaiting is largely dependend on the fandom’s reading. It’s exactly this perspective that, at times, I was missing. Again, this might just be because that’s the side of this subject I usually find myself on, but still… I feel it might have added a richness, that little something extra, which now, at times, I found to be a bit lacking.

The rating: 3/5
Let’s be real – a first book on any subject is not an easy quest. If, from time to time, the authors tend to get a bit wordy? Maybe even forget to put a stopper on the sheer amount of names they drop? Might have tried to focus on the fandom’s perspective itself? All those things are only to be expected in a sense. After all: in being the first, they had a lot of ground to cover.

I’m honestly looking forward to seeing what discussions this book might start, if any at all. (and wouldn’t that be telling!) More than anything though, I know that I will go back to certain of these essays while I’m consuming the media they discuss, and think… “Oh, so that’s what they were going on about!” (Goodreads)

-Saar

Interesting pieces, but I have no interest in most of the shows and fandoms covered so I was a bit... bored. Would recommend it to straight people tho, they have some things to learn.

The content of this book was truly great. Comprised of 7 essays and multiple "thought pieces", it really covers all topics and areas of queerbaiting in media, from Supernatural, Sherlock, Nick Jonas, Harry Potter, Adventure Time, Xena, etc. It was massively helpful in explaining the problems, and putting words to what so many of us have been trying to vocalize all along.

The only thing disappointing here is that this is the first book on queerbaiting, I can only hope this inspires more like it because we need it. This was a really great read despite it taking longer to read than an average non-fiction because of the writing style.

This is a really though-provoking collection of essay and thought pieces on 'queerbaiting' and queer reading practices highlighting a variety of recent media. Most of the pieces are quite academic, particularly at the start of the book and if the reader doesn't have a media/cultural studies background I think it could be a challenging read in the more theoretical parts. This collection actually really changed my position on queerbaiting and sparked discussions in my household about the value of LGBTQ representation, identity politics, the death and resurrection of the author and assimilationist vs radical reading practices, so I got a lot from it but then I'm also a fandom nerd with academic experience in fandom studies so your mileage might vary. I especially enjoyed Emma Nordin and Monique Franklin's essays, and loved that a piece on Black Sails' 'straightbaiting' was included which I'd love to read a whole book on.

Queerbaiting and Fandom is a collection of essays that explore queerbaiting in media. This was an interesting collection to read as queerbaiting has turned into a sort-of marketing technique in popular media. It explores the different ways in which viewers are promises representation or alluded to, representation but ultimately never getting it. Characters that sit just on the fence, friendships that allude to more but will always just be friendships. It's a cheap marketing technique but it works. Either in outrage or anticipation.

Although I found most of these essays interesting some of them felt a little shallow to them such as equating taking shirtless pictures with queerbaiting. Not the same thing tbh. And skating the line between real people versus characters. I found it unsettling that "Larry Stylinson" was included as I don't believe they are queerbaiting. It's a fandom that ran away with the idea and ruined a friendship between two real people, not queerbaiting,

Amazing! I'm so happy this book is getting published (I already pre-ordered it for myself, though I doubt at the retail price of $50 and a relatively obscure subject matter most bookstores will carry it). As a media studies Ph.D. student with a prominent interest in fandom studies, this book is absolutely ESSENTIAL. That said, not all pieces are equal, but that's okay. The book's strongest pieces are the longer ones (in fact, arguably, the introduction by Brennan is the strongest piece as it defines queerbaiting and thoroughly researches its origins, among other things). I believe any reader familiar with some of the fandoms but not others will find all pieces entertaining and illuminating; I personally did not know who Nick Jonas was, don't play Overwatch, don't watch cartoons, etc. - but I've found those pieces still useful to my research and understanding of the issue. I appreciate the interdisciplinary and cross-media approach of the book and its accessibility to most readers in terms of language and coherency. Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, the book is very respectful to its subject matter and, for me, signifies a significant shift within academia.

This was quite an interesting book.

I've often been tricked by queerbaiting in TV shows (especially) and was so incredibly hurt and frustrated by the shows. The book gives a pretty unbiased view of this topic, even if the writing was a little too academic for my taste. I also appreciated the explanation of differences between queerbaiting and homoerotic subtext that can simply be read queerly.

I was most interested in the essays about Johnlock and Destiel, as I was someone who shipped both couples at one point during my Tumblr tenure. I truly believe that the producers of the shows deliberately baited audiences with queer-coded romance and looks between the men without ever paying it off for the audiences, simply because they know how popular the shows are amongst queer audiences without upsetting their heterosexual ones. I also really enjoyed the essay on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and the fact that Albus and Scorpius, which was so obviously queer but never developed.

While some essays were just ok, I still recommend this collection, even if just to read the essays about the fandoms you're interested in.

This book, comprised of articles and shorter 'think pieces' is a fascinating read for anyone, LGBTQ or not, who wants to learn more about the phenomenom of queerbaiting.

The text is academic, but it is simple enough for someone not an academic within that particular field to understand it, and the reference list is extensive if you're interested in wider reading.

I thought the book overall gave a relatively unbiased look at the topic of queerbaiting, the issues within the media industry today, and the difference between queerbaiting and homoerotic subtext that can be 'read queerly'.

I found the Sherlock and Supernatural discussions particularly interesting, as a queer fan but not a Johnlock or Destiel shipper. It gave me insight into something I previously hadn't understood, and had therefore avoided. There are detailed analysises of particular scenes and fan reactions, as well as discussion around the intention of the producers. Other fandoms discussed included Harry Potter, Xena, and the topic of real person slash and celebrity queerbaiting.

Well worth a read, even if you only dip into the chapters you have a particular interest in.

The topic of queerbaiting has come up repeatedly in various fandoms I've been part of. At various times, I've been more or less understanding about the issue. I expected to be irritated by this book, but the explorations made the issue clearer for me. Some of the topics were less interesting because I'm not part of those fandoms, but the chapters on Supernatural and Sherlock were especially engaging. I liked that the "thought pieces" were presented to give additional views on each topic. Overall, this was a balanced and nuanced look at this sometimes contraversial topic.

This book is book important and interesting.

The format of the book is 7 longer essays interspersed with shorter "thought pieces". Each essay or thought piece explores a different aspect of what queerbaiting is or where it has been argued to have been employed. There are a wide variety of topics covered in this book including Sherlock Holmes, Nick Jonas, and the Eurovision Song Contest.

The book did take me a little while to read as it is written in an academic style but it is well worth the effort and I would strongly recommend others read it too.

Although I did say I would likely not use this text for my classes, that is no reflection on the quality of the work. Instead, I just feel this might be a bit too much for the level and location where I teach and I’d really struggle to engage my students in any open dialogue with this text.

I will, however, be recommending this text to colleagues. There were some really insightful observations and connections made. I was first made aware of the term “queer baiting” through Supernatural, so I was particularly interested in the essay on the queer baiting that occurs between Dean and Castiel. I will admit that I was a bit surprised that the focus was centered more on “wincest” and the study of how it is a homoerotic narrative. Despite my initial reaction that linking homosexuality and incest just adds fuel to the bigot fires, I have to say the examples given from different texts, particularly the use of Foucault’s writing about sexuality and place was very compelling. I won’t review the other essays in as much depth because they weren’t as compelling to me, but overall this is a great text for anyone interested in gender and sexuality, pop culture, or both.

The first book of its kind and it doesn't let you down. Extremely comprehensive and thought-provoking. Different perspectives all clearly detailed covering a range of examples from now and across time.

I'm not sure that this book does what it promises on the cover. There's a couple of interesting sections where it talks about the difference between 'queer coding' and 'queerbaiting', which was more interesting for me than the focus on particular fandoms. I found it very interesting that, given the diversity of fandom, there was such a focus on a very small number of fandoms though I guess these are the heavy hitters of a few years back.

Where the book didn't quite work for me was the focus on the interpretation being placed on this by fans, while it would have been much more interesting to know what the thought processes were of the people on the production side of things. The deliberate decision-making to push a show in a particular direction (or not) can only be surmised from the fan side of things and that lack of an alternate point of view meant it felt very one-sided.

Technical points: There were some major issues with the formatting in the ebook version, with randomised capital letters in places, some of which made it very difficult to follow. A hyper-linked index, so you could go straight to the piece of writing you wanted, would have been a real help.