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The Allusionist

157. Queerbaiting

The Allusionist

Helen Zaltzman

Arts, Education, Words, Linguistics, History, Entertainment, Helen Zaltzman, Etymology, Society & Culture

4.73.8K Ratings

🗓️ 25 June 2022

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The term 'queerbaiting' has evolved from meaning entrapment to marketing ploy to drawing "queer audiences into a piece of media that has no intention of actually meaningfully exploring queerness" says Leigh Pfeffer, host and producer of the podcast History Is Gay. Leigh tracks where the word's various incarnations came from, and why it should not be confused with 'queer coding'.

This episode contains some swears.

Find out more information about the topics in this episode at theallusionist.org/queerbaiting, plus a transcript and the full dictionary entry for the randomly selected word.

And come to see the new live show Your Name Here in Australia and New Zealand! Ticket links are at theallusionist.org/events, and everyone gets a special Allusionist pencil. Each! You don't even have to share the same pencil!

Sign up to be a patron at patreon.com/allusionist and not only are you supporting an independent podcast, you get patron-exclusive video livestreams and a Discord community full of language chat, crafts, pet pics and word games.

The Allusionist's online home is theallusionist.org. Stay in touch at twitter.com/allusionistshow, facebook.com/allusionistshow and instagram.com/allusionistshow.

The Allusionist is produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. The music is by Martin Austwick. Hear Martin’s own songs via palebirdmusic.com.

Our ad partner is Multitude. To sponsor the show, contact them at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by:

• Bombas, whose mission is to make the comfiest clothes ever, and match every item sold with an equal item donated. Go to bombas.com/allusionist to get 20% off your first purchase.
• BetterHelp, online therapy with licensed professional counsellors. Allusionist listeners get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/allusionist.
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Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is the illusionist in which I Helen Salzman enter language in a seaside

0:08.4

nobly knees competition as a joke but only went on one.

0:12.0

Very proud, very proud.

0:14.0

Today's episode is about the shifting meaning of the word queerbaiting.

0:18.0

It's a bit related to the last episode that was about rainbow washing but this time in entertainment.

0:23.0

Illusionist News Bulletin, the illusionist is going on tour with the new live show

0:28.0

your name here which is all about epinems, those linguistic menaces.

0:32.0

The show is a lot of fun and you get a special illusionist pencil with your ticket

0:37.0

not available in the shops, not even the pencil boutiques.

0:40.0

We'll be performing in Australia in July and Aotearoa New Zealand in August.

0:46.0

Gosh that's soon so motor over to the illusionist.org slash events for tickets to the dates

0:51.0

that have already been announced.

0:52.0

Canberra Melbourne Adelaide Sydney and Auckland and there will be more added soon.

0:56.0

There are a couple of swears in this episode on with the show.

1:10.0

I really wanted to talk about these things because I'm a queer historian but I'm also a big media nerd

1:16.0

and I feel really strongly about queer representation

1:20.0

and the way that LGBTQ characters and themes have been portrayed on television and on film

1:28.0

and in different forms of media.

1:30.0

And we have these tropes and this language of representation and stereotypes that shows up in media right now

1:40.0

that has a long long history.

1:43.0

I'm Lee Feffer and I use they then pronouns

1:48.0

and I am the host and producer of History's Gay Podcast.

...

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