A culture of entitlement

COMMENTARY BY GEORGIA RAU, FEATURES

ITH today’s youth gaining social awareness, celebrities are often called out for inappropriate or offensive behavior. For many stars — most recently, actor Kit Connor — unwarranted queerbaiting allegations have compelled a response regarding their sexuality, a deeply personal discussion that such figures are often unprepared for.

The original definition of the term “queerbaiting” is the deliberate inclusion of same-sex relationships which are seemingly romantic in media as a way to capture the attention of LGBTQ+ audiences, while never explicitly labeling the characters as gay or bisexual in order to maintain uncertainty among viewers, according to Oxford Languages. However, it has evolved to mean to pretend to experience same-sex attraction to gain attention.

“Queerbaiting, I feel, is an overused term that can cause people to not fully express themselves in fear of being accused of it,” senior Parker D’Alemberte said.

In 2021, singer Billie Eilish released the music video for her song, “Lost Cause,” featuring Eilish with a group of girls at a slumber party. After posting a promotion on Instagram captioned “I love girls,” fans flooded the comments, some of whom were accusing the celebrity of queerbaiting and others who defended Eilish. According to the Independent, some comments even asked if this was her “coming out” — a term used to describe a person in the LGBTQ+ community sharing their sexuality publicly. Not only is this a premature assumption based on the inconspicuous nature of her caption, but it also invades the singer’s privacy and implies that fans are owed an explanation of her sexuality, which they are not.

More recently, the Netflix original “Heartstopper”

Waired, starring Kit Connor and his co-star, Joe Locke, as a gay couple. Though Connor decided not to label his sexuality publicly, The Guardian reports that fans accused Connor of queerbaiting after he was seen holding hands with a new female co-star — implying that he was only performing as queer for attention

I think some of you missed the point of the show. Bye.” and that he was not gay or bisexual. However, assuming that Connor is straight because of this situation ignores the definition of bisexuality. Following a social media break, he took to Twitter, stating, “I’m bi. Congrats for forcing an 18-year-old to out himself.

“Opening up about sexuality is very personal, so the celebrities should be the ones to decide whether or not they express it openly, not the fans,” junior Dylan Martinez said. With widespread internet activism and acceptance of different sexualities, people tend to forget how dangerous coming out can be. The UCLA Williams Institute of Law reports that those in the LGBTQ+ community are four times more likely to be victims of violent crime. Everyone, even celebrities, has a right to keep their sexuality private, especially given the inherent dangers of coming out.

“I believe that it’s unfair and out of line for fans to force celebrities to come out or open up about their sexuality because it’s a personal matter,” sophomore Andrea Winkeljohn said.

One of the more concerning parts of this issue is the entitled nature of these accusations. Fans believe that they have a personal relationship with the celebrities they admire. Through tabloids, fans can obtain the most minute details of a public figure’s life — from relationship speculations to what they wore to the grocery store.

However, this does not give fans the right to harass celebrities to gather any undisclosed detail of their life. Furthermore, one cannot help but wonder if allegations of queerbaiting are meant to prompt the celebrity to disclose homosexuality and are somewhat self-serving for certain fans, as they crave further closeness with their favorite actors, singers or athletes.

Source: Yale School of Public Health

Pressuring celebrities to come out is not the activism many seem to think it is and is harmful to the celebrities as well as the LGBTQ+ community, causing irreparable damage on both sides. Even in situations in which a celebrity is being offensive or insensitive, there is a way to call out problematic situations without forcing them out of their comfort zones.