{"id":144345,"date":"2026-02-05T04:39:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T04:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/144345\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T04:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T04:39:10","slug":"is-queerbaiting-the-best-representation-fans-can-expect-the-crows-nest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/144345\/","title":{"rendered":"Is queerbaiting the best representation fans can expect? \u00a0 \u2013 The Crow’s Nest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Will Byers (left) and Mike Wheeler (right) in the final season of hit Netflix series \u201cStranger Things\u201d. <\/p>\n

By Ashley Pena\u00a0<\/p>\n

After four years of anticipation, \u201cStranger Things\u201d released its series finale on New Year\u2019s Eve. Beloved for its blending of fantasy, horror, and its cherished characters, the Netflix phenomenon has garnered a massive audience since its 2016 premiere.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But as the ball dropped on New Year\u2019s Eve, so did the hearts of many viewers as they watched the show write itself into the ground. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The finale dug plot holes within plot holes, left character arcs incomplete and managed to upset every pocket of their audience. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Loudest among these fans were the Byler \u2014 a combination of Will Byers\u2019 and Mike Wheeler\u2019s names by fans who believe the two should be in a romantic relationship \u2014 shippers, shouting one word from every social media platform:\u00a0 Queerbaiting.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are a few terms that seem to circulate online communities endlessly. When fans of Byler were left with Mike and Will going their separate ways, despite nine years of evidence pointing toward a canon relationship between the two, queerbaiting reentered the conversation.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

President of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg\u2019s PRIDE Alliance, Skye Smith, told The Crow\u2019s Nest that \u201cqueerbaiting is when an organization or company hints\/markets characters as queer without ever actually making them queer.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

It would be easy to dismiss Byler fans\u2019 disappointment as classic fandom ship war drama. However, the cast interviews, coded details and pandering towards Byler shippers make it clear that this goes beyond fandom infighting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, these shows gain popularity and spark a lot of fan \u2018ships,\u2019 however, the creators stop short of ever confirming these relationships,\u201d Smith said.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cStranger Things\u201d may have made progress by introducing Robin and Vickie, the show\u2019s only queer couple, but fell short after both developing and separating the pair between seasons. Outside of Robin and Vickie, Will Byers is the only LGBTQ+ representation in the series.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

He is also the only \u201cStranger Things\u201d character to not have a romantic arc.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

When criticized for this choice, \u201cStranger Things\u201d showrunners doubled down claiming it realistic. \u00a0<\/p>\n

In a show where the final battle against a giant interdimensional spider is won with the help of a flare gun, it is hard to side with realism.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Realistically, \u201cStranger Things\u201d chose to undermine the representation their queer audience was hoping for. Instead, the show sends a message that finding love and happiness is unlikely for queer people.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Smith emphasized the need for representation and the feelings that arise when it faces backlash.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe representation in the media is incredibly important. I get frustrated when people say things like, \u2018There are gay people in every show now,\u2019 because the truth is, gay people exist everywhere in real life,\u201d Smith said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all around us. I think we often forget that the world is much bigger than our own small circles and that everyone deserves to see themselves represented in media, not just a select few,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is something to be said in the queer community continuously advocating for representation, despite the cyclical nature of greedy showrunners. Still, instances of queerbaiting leave queer audiences dejected.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

To fans feeling overlooked by the unsatisfying queer representation in media, the USF St. Petersburg\u2019s PRIDE Alliance stated, \u201cthat they are not alone.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still a huge lack of representation for many parts of the queer community,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI hope people realize that the popular, trending shows aren\u2019t the only queer media out there. There is so much more. Queer media exists everywhere for those with the eyes to see.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n


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Written by: Ashley Pena<\/a> on February 4, 2026.
Last revised by: Julia Ferrara<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Will Byers (left) and Mike Wheeler (right) in the final season of hit Netflix series \u201cStranger Things\u201d. By…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144346,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-144345","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-st-pete","9":"tag-st-pete-headlines","10":"tag-st-pete-news","11":"tag-st-petersburg","12":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","13":"tag-st-petersburg-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}