Queerbaiting may also involve the suggestion of a romantic or sexual interest between two characters of the same gender without making it outright canon. This can backfire against TPTB when queerbaiting is paired with “no homo!” moments in canon, where a seemingly intimate exchange between characters is immediately followed by an “of course we’re not gay” joke.
#ok but for real#this is why getting angry over deancas not being canon is very different than yelling about other gay ships#because moments like this acutally get written into teh show#moments that very intentionally written#it’s not just that we ship two characters and want them to be together despite it being unrealistic in the show#it’s that the show HELPS US ship them and ENCOURAGES US to ship them#and writes intentionally romantic tropes and lines#yet backs off and doens’t go through with it#that’s why if deancas isn’t endgame#if this hasn’t just been to delay the inevitable and create a will they won’t they atmosphere of question and tension#to keep us wondering and tuning in to find out#then it absolutely IS queerbaiting (x)
This. I actually think in general the accusation of queerbaiting is often leveled a bit too casually and liberally within fandom. I don’t think just because you ship two characters, that automatically means they have been queerbaited, and I don’t think that any level of homoerotic subtext whatsoever automatically counts as queerbaiting either. Queerbaiting doesn’t just mean these two character could possibly have a believable romantic/sexual dynamic. It means, the text has repeatedly, gratuitously and strategically played up the idea of a romantic/sexual dynamic between the characters.
Not every popular slash pairing has been queerbaited, and in fact, the majority of them probably haven’t earned the term. But Dean and Castiel have absolutely, undeniably, transparently been queerbaited. They probably take the prize for #1 queerbait of all time, ever. If there were a textbook on queerbaiting, Dean/Cas would be held up in it as the quintessential, archetypal queerbait.
Not shipping it is anyone’s prerogative. But to say it hasn’t been queerbaited just falls into the realm of willful obtuseness.
