On Oct. 31, Kit Connor, star of Netflix’s ”Heartstopper,” logged back onto Twitter to come out as bisexual after deleting the app a month. Though coming out can be a joyful occasion, Connor expressed frustration and defeat in his tweet, “back for a minute. i’m bi. congrats for forcing an 18 year old to out himself. i think some of you missed the point of the show. bye.”
”Heartstopper” is a British coming-of-age show that blends romance with comedy and drama. In the show, Connor plays Nick Nelson, a character who grapples with his sexuality but eventually comes out as bisexual. Though Connor has been an active supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community in real life, he chose not to reveal his sexuality to the public despite his character coming out.
Connor previously logged off of Twitter on Sep. 12 after many accused him of “queerbaiting” — the practice of hinting or alluding to being part of the LGBTQIA+ community with the sole intention of attracting an LGBTQ+ audience for media attention.
Historically, it’s been applied as a marketing technique. Books or movies ambiguously suggest queerness without actually revealing a queer identity. It’s seen as a ploy for “edginess” or simply a tactic to engage a larger audience and therefore gain more profit.
These insincere depictions on screen often result in the creators of such media being called out. More modern applications of queerbaiting, however, are aimed at celebrities such as Connor.
People are using the term to condemn celebrities who they feel are exploiting queer aesthetics “without identifying as queer,” as Them wrote. If a celebrity appears to “act” queer or complies with stereotypes about queer people too much, fans jump on that celebrity to justify such acts. They believe the celebrity is “performing” queerness to gain a larger following.
After being harassed about why he failed to come out and withheld his sexuality from the public, Connor told Hunger back in August that he “completely understand[s] that many fans want queer representation to be authentic and they want to know whether it is authentic, but at the same time you shouldn’t make someone feel uncomfortable to the point where they have to tell a stranger about their sexuality.”
Condemning acts of queerbaiting in media can be beneficial to the LGBTQIA+ community as it demands authentic and genuine portrayals of queer people, something we certainly need. On the other hand, demanding celebrities come out because they express themselves in a certain way is not beneficial.
We’re not entitled to know anything about the life of a celebrity, especially something as personal as their sexuality. Forcing someone to come out is not progress for the queer community, and the act of declaring that certain celebrities are “queerbaiting” can actually be very harmful.