“QUEERBAITING”

Fans all across the country were ecstatic for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker; not only because it is the final Star Wars movie, but because director J.J Abrams promised LGBTQ+ representation in the movie. 

However, There was a little representation, while there was technically LGBTQ+ screen time with a two second kiss that is not enough to satisfy the needs of the community. 

The way Abrams was promoting the representation made it seem like it would be a big deal. LGBTQ+ audiences looked forward to the idea of a gay main character, for example. But instead they were given a nameless lesbian kiss.

This isn’t the first time the LGBTQ+ community has struggled for representation, and when they do receive the representation they deserve, it creates a controversy in the media world. 

On Dec 15 of 2019, Hallmark pulled a commercial featuring a lesbian wedding after the conservative activist group “One Million Moms” complained to the CEO of Hallmark saying that the advertisement was ‘unfit for children to watch’. 

Felling the activist’s pressure, Hallmark took the ads off the air. Many people boycotted Hallmark until they apologized and placed the ad back on the channel a few days later. 

When it comes to the silver screen, the LGBTQ+ community is no closer to equality either.

On April 26th of 2019, Marvel’s Endgame hit the theaters. The Russo brothers, who directed the movie, said that there would be the first openly gay character in the movie. 

Like Star Wars, it was a nameless character who held no real importance to the movie. It is not enough to count as representation.

Short and meaningless clips of LGBTQ+ allow them to be easily cut. But why would the producers want to cut the scenes? Many states like Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, and Michigan, ban gay movies, books, tv shows, or any sort of media representation. 

However, when representation on the screen is favorable for large movie corporations. These clips are heavily advertised and have been used as a selling point to audiences. 

This tactic used to gain more money is called “Queerbaiting” so they can get the community excited for a movie so then they go to see it. It’s only used to rack up the ticket sales.

Representation and equality means nothing to the movie producers, even though it should. Money is their real Endgame.