Stranger Things on Sidechat | Guys I get being upset about byler not happening if you like the ship but I’m confused about ppl saying it’s queerbaiting, this is a mainstream show that has a cannon lesbian, gay man and bisexual women& a healthy happy sapphic relationship (continued⬇️)

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Stranger Things 2d

Guys I get being upset about byler not happening if you like the ship but I’m confused about ppl saying it’s queerbaiting, this is a mainstream show that has a cannon lesbian, gay man and bisexual women& a healthy happy sapphic relationship (continued⬇️)

Anonymous 2d

this captures it well. imo since there was a long timeskip they could have just had will get over mike during that and say to robin something like, "i used to like someone" instead of the whole "signs" convo that they had

Anonymous 2d

Also I feel like assuming they don’t make byler cannon, having wills journey with his sexuality be about him, vrs his relationship is equally if not more powerful than having it be about his relationship. It’s about accepting and loving himself

Anonymous 2d

I def think his coming out could have been handled way better but other than that I think wills story has been great queer rep so far

Anonymous 2d

A huge story line this season has been about accepting yourself as queer with both Robin and Will, robins coming out scene was phenomenal, and Will is canonically gay after the years of build up. It’s got great LGBTQ rep, I just don’t understand ppl saying they are queerbaiting

Anonymous

#1 2d

it just seems silly for them to be building up wills decade long love for mike so much over s4-5 just for him to call mike "his tammy." i honestly would have rather had a scene where will confesses to mike and gets rejected, than will pretend his crush on mike wasnt serious for him at all lol

Anonymous

#1 2d

and i absolutely agree w your point about self love and acceptance being powerful, i just think the way they went about it was bad. also, did he really get over mike THAT fast? regardless, thats still a secret that vecna could expose, since he didnt actually confess to mike or say that mike was the one he likes/used to like specifically

Anonymous

#1 2d

No I definitely think they could have handled it a lot better (and maybe they still will) I just think it doesn’t make sense when I see ppl saying it’s queerbaiting or that the show doesn’t have good queer rep just because byler hasn’t happened. But yes def issues with wills coming out story and feelings for mike story, just don’t think it equates to queer baiting but room for improvement for sure!

Anonymous

OP 2d

i think it could be seen as queerbait in the relationship department if that makes sense. like i dont think anyone would disagree that will as an individual character is good gay rep, but the writing in vol1 made us THINK he was going to act on his feelings in some way (regardless of whether it ended in rejection or byler) but instead his feelings about this person just went away offscreen supposedly. THATS how it could feel like bait imo

Anonymous

OP 2d

The traditional meaning of queerbaiting is more about teasing a particular queer relationship and then never going through with it than it is about having gay rep at all, you know? I think people more mean that the whole byler buildup is queerbaiting, not the entire show

Anonymous

#2 2d

When I look up the definition relationships are mentioned briefly but the main aspect is “baiting” characters are queer to draw in audiences but not actually making them queer, and yea baiting at a queer relationship and not having it happen could be queer baiting fs, but I think considering we have a cannon queer couple I jsut don’t feel like that fits the relationship aspect either.

Anonymous

#2 2d

I guess saying it’s baiting specifically the relationship between Will and Mike makes some sense, but just ppl saying the show overall is queerbaiting doesn’t make sense to me

Anonymous

OP 2d

Yeah that’s what I mean