wasongo:

I keep seeing people saying Yuri on Ice is queerbaiting, and while it’s definitely doing unsavory things, I don’t think queerbaiting is the right term to criticize Japanese media, especially anime.

The main reason being queerbaiting is a term constructed as a criticism of specifically western media, where the tactic is used to attract LGBT audiences and minorities to a show through very limited homoromantic/homoerotic subtext. Basically a false promise that there will be LGBT characters/themes/representation in a show.

Western media specifically looks to attract LGBT folks to a show through this ploy, thus, queerbaiting.

Japanese media is constructed differently than western media and exists on a completely different cultural plane, where different issues arise. Anime and manga specifically, have used tactics like homoromantic fanservice for decades (see CLAMP) where differently to western media, the target audience for these ploys has always been straight girls, not LGBT folk. So it seems really out of place to be using terms for criticizing western media, on a show that has no intention luring in an LGBT audience to it and is evidently appealing to straight girls who are into BL. This is not to say YOI is without flaw, since it is obviously relying on the ever problematic fetishization of gay relationships as a boost to its female audience. This is NOT the same problem as queerbaiting. It IS however, just as disappointing.

You can’t criticize non-western media through a western lens. Imo what you’re all trying to criticize on YOI is in fact its over the top fanservice rooted in the fetishization of gay men and gay relationships(again, not the same thing as queerbaiting). Hence why the writing surrounding Yuuri and Viktor is especially bad. See, Yuuri being written as needing to feel like a woman in order to attract Viktor’s attention. (Lmao god that’s your typical BL line of writing right there, one of them gotta be the woman right??)

I see y'all saying it’d be great if Yuuri and Viktor were to be canon. However, if it were so, I am more than certain this show would have been advertised as a BL title, and then guess what, it still would not have been with the intention of bringing representation to us LGBT folk, it would be with the intention of appealing, again, to straight women who are into BL, which is, a problem in and of itself. For goodness’ sake if anime explicitly about men being in a relationship isn’t aimed at us(what with it being fetishized to hell and back), what makes you think YOI would be looking to gain your viewership??? They ain’t looking to bait no queer folk here, just girls who get their kicks off on fetishized gay relationships.