Kit Connor Is Accused Of Queerbaiting – Is That A Fair Call?
There are few constants in life; death, taxes and the internet’s obsession with labels. The latest celebrity to fall victim to the queerbaiter label is none other than Heartstopper star Kit Connor. In response, the actor has left Twitter, reports Metro.
VALID CRITICISM OR GATEKEEPING SEXUALITY
Kit Connor is the star of Netflix’s wildly popular series Heartstopper that came out earlier this year. The show centres around Charlie Spring, played by Connor’s co-star Joe Locke, as he navigates a relationship with the straight-presenting Nick Nelson (Connor).
The show’s LGBTQIA+ nature brought into question Kit Connor’s sexuality which he has chosen to keep private, reports Metro. Pictures of Connor holding hands with Maia Reficco, his co-star on the upcoming A Cuban Girls’ Guide To Tea And Tomorrow, led many to jump to the conclusion that he is straight and by remaining quiet about his sexuality he is queerbaiting.
THE NITTY-GRITTY OF QUEERBAITING
Queerbaiting is defined as a straight person deliberately adopting traits of queerness to benefit from the LGBTQIA+ community. It was originally used to criticise media that employed queer aesthetics or plot lines but fell short of delivering actual representation. Another modern example is straight content creators who pretend to be gay to sell their OnlyFans subscriptions to gay audiences.
Kit Connor isn’t the only one to be accused of queerbaiting. Harry Styles, Charlie Puth and Bad Bunny have all been accused and labelled with the term. We have written an opinion piece surrounding the debate over Harry Styles where we posit the question – How much of their private lives do celebrities owe us?
It’s a murky and nuanced argument to engage with; unlike racism or misogyny, there’s no way to accuse someone of abusing the queer veneer unless you first put queerness into a box. Not only that, but requiring someone to come out as straight to avoid the queerbaiter label gives off a distinctly icky vibe.
The large part of this debate occurs among chronically online folks but they are the loudest voices in the crowd. Holding manipulative queerbaiters accountable is justified and a valid concern, but in the case of Kit Connor holding hands with a woman it might just be a bad hottake. For one, he’s been seen holding hands with Joe Locke at Pride so it’s a little myopic to take holding hands to be exclusively sexual or romantic, reports Queerty.
Some cultural theorists and sociologists define sexuality as a carefully negotiated construct. It doesn’t exist innately, but rather is built in collusion with antiquated ideas of masculinity and femininity. If we are to move beyond these labels that function to divide us, it’s important to understand that sexuality (like gender) is fluid. Following this, should we still care if somebody remains private about how they define their sexuality?
