THE OVERWHELMING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REPRESENTATION AND QUEERBAITING

Picture source: @katsadena on Twitter

In the media, poor attempts at diversity that tack LGBTQ+ identities on the backs of more 'eccentric' characters - just to implement a token-gesture guise of inclusivity - are as obsolete as not including any queer characters at all. I do not want such representation if it is falsified.

Take Netflix's Riverdale, for example. It took less than an hour for the Pilot to reek of queerbaiting, and they didn't even try to lure us tastefully. I mean, not that that's okay either, but there was absolutely no poise in this case. Usually, trashy shows drag out the plot that involves queer female characters in particular in order to retain an LGBTQ+ audience for as long as painfully possible, while Riverdale just dumped an entire season's worth of artificial chemistry onto us in the first half of the first episode.

Two of the core four (at least I think they're the main characters, I gave up on this show halfway through season one for this exact reason) kiss with absolutely no buildup or reasoning at all. Neither Betty or Veronica are explicitly stated to be anything other than straight, or even inferred to be for that matter, and once the extremely out of place kiss happens, it's never even mentioned again.

We all know that this was simply a ploy to entice LGBTQ+ audiences (two conventionally attractive, unstereotypical characters defying the norms of typical high school dramas in front of an extensively populated audience? Sign me up.) but that doesn't make it sting any less. The liberating potential of this scene was wasted massively, rather being used for all the wrong reasons. 'Kiss in front of the cheerleading team,' they said, 'They'll pick you for the squad if you do! Rack up the views of hopefuls while you're at it!'

Picture source: pinterest.co.uk

The recent release of the third season of Netflix's Atypical has brought this debate of representation versus queerbaiting to the forefront of my mind, and presumably the minds of many others. If there was a spectrum wherein 'queerbaiting' was scribbled on one end with Riverdale sat smugly upon it, the opposing 'representative' end would be the perfect home for Atypical.

While Atypical covers a multitude of complex topics, it's an endearing and warming series. What I'm trying to say is that the same-sex relationship featured is not the focal point of the entire storyline nor does it overwhelm or bait the audience. It is much more than that. The main plotline follows Sam, an autistic teenager navigating through his transformative years, with branching subplots that explore the moral grounds of cheating and the reception of neurodiverse people, to name a few. Don't get me wrong, the budding relationship between Casey and Izzie is prevalent throughout the seasons and has evidently blown up on stan Twitter (calm down, my fellow gays), but this connection is authentically explored as opposed to tastelessly exploited. This is where the difference lies.

When LGBTQ+ folk advocate for representation, we are not asking writers and producers to shove random, undeveloped, sexually-motivated scenes in our faces. True LGBTQ+ representation encompasses wholly our experiences. Not everything is a glossy, aesthetically pleasing scene with an aptly timed zoom and preppy music - there are mental strains, issues relating to public perception, the consideration of stereotypes, need I go on? This is where Atypical becomes invaluable to our realistic portrayals.

Rather than approaching Casey and Izzie's relationship in the aforementioned way, Atypical allows their narratives to develop organically and at their own pace. The characters are not rushed, as depicted in Riverdale, nor are they unnecessarily dragged out like those in Killing Eve (I'll get on to that). Their journey isn't glamourised and both girls are given the respect and dignity to figure themselves out. That's how it should be.

Picture source: @epicdeanoru on Twitter

While we're on the topic of queerbaiting, I feel that it's relevant to cover the odd concept of promised queerbaiting - when shows continually hint that a same-sex relationship is imminent, while repeatedly drawing out bland narratives to put off any kind of delivery into the 'next season'. Shows like Killing Eve come to mind, wherein the main female characters are moulded to interact in a provocative way in the sense that they feign chemistry. Fair enough, perhaps there is simply platonic chemistry there, but why not market it as such? Why coin them 'girlfriends', using the term in the loosest fashion possible to string along your largely queer audience when you know fully that you are never going to deliver? This is exploitation in its purest form, and it's way more common than you'd think.

The moral of the story here is to treat LGBTQ+ relationships in the media as simply that. Not as pawns, not in an exploitative or hypersexualised manner, not as though we become completely consumed by our sexual orientation and have little more to offer the world. Sexuality is an element of the individual, of course, but is not necessarily the driving force of our existence - it is a factor. In Atypical's case, Casey and Izzie are beautifully-layered characters that just so happen to be beginning to understand this factor of themselves, and this experience is documented justly.

The slow burn, the hesitation, the periodic reluctance, the confusion, the denial, the acceptance. Atypical presents each element of sexuality honourably and realistically, refusing to shy away from the harsh realities of Casey and Izzie's journies just to appeal to those that would follow this storyline for arguably the wrong reasons. Kudos, Atypical, your realism is appreciated. A lot. 

Article by: PJ