Straightbaiting is not real. Or, more accurately, we shouldn’t call it that.
You may ask, “What is straightbaiting?” You might wonder about its possible connection to its sister word, queerbaiting.
Definitions in the Urban Dictionary dated to the early 2000s describe straightbaiting as the concept of a straight person acting in a stereotypically gay way (ironically using Ricky Martin as an example, since the entry is dated before his coming out).
In 2026, straightbait as a term has found more traction online, particularly Twitter, to describe a plot line in Zootopia 2, which included multiple hints and overt teases of a romantic relationship between the film’s leads, the bunny Judy and the fox Nick. By the end of the film, Nick has partially (debatably) delivered some sort of love confession, but it leaves the possibility of a relationship more or less in the open. Hence, people refer to it as straightbaiting.
People have also started referring to other fictional relationships between a male character and a female character that suggests but never confirms romance as straightbaiting, particularly Link and Zelda from Legend of Zelda, and Natsu and Lucy from Fairy Tail.
By now, you may be wondering what the harm in naming a trend in popular culture is. Let’s unpack it. For starters, there’s already a name for this type of romantic subplot: the “will they, won’t they” trope. Obvious teasing of the romantic relationship, the chemistry and tensions between these characters, and the avoidance of actually writing these characters in a relationship are all hallmarks of this very old romantic trope.
But there is one more common denominator I haven’t talked about yet, and it ties back to how straightbait is clearly based on the word queerbait: “will they, won’t they” is almost exclusively heterosexual.
According to the TV Tropes page about “will they, won’t they,” the premise of such a pairing is that they will end up together eventually, and “only rarely is the question of whether the writers think they should is in any real doubt.” But these same tropes, obvious chemistry and romantic teasing without any confirmation of a real relationship between a pair of same sex characters is queerbaiting.
“Will they, won’t they” plots are guarantees of an eventual romantic relationship. Queerbaiting is a marketing tactic to entice queer viewers to watch a show without putting in the effort to actually write queer characters in order to avoid alienating a straight, conservative audience.
This is the main reason why I find myself frustrated with heterosexual potential couplings being labeled as “straightbaiting.” And even in the rare cases where the pairing is not confirmed, there will be plenty of other media with the relationship dynamic you want.
Let’s circle back to the example of Nick and Judy. If you want a workplace romance, watch The Office. If you want a workplace romance specifically between law enforcement, watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine or Miss Congeniality. If you are really into the sunny and optimistic woman with the cynical, sarcastic man pairing, watch literally any romcom. There’s about a 50/50 chance that’ll be the dynamic. Beastars is always an option if you’re really into the concept of interspecies relationships between anthropomorphic animals.
Queer people who get queerbaited by a show have significantly less options to turn to. Even though the number of mainstream queer stories are increasing, there simply aren’t as many queer romances out there, covering all the same dynamics straight romances do. Not to mention, the crushing disappointment that comes after being queerbaited. The disappointment of a straight ship not sailing is nothing compared to the chance to see someone like yourself on screen only for the rug to be ripped out from under you.
An article from Pink News in 2018 also centers the concept of straightbaiting, but the way it approaches the topic is more in line with what the opposite of queerbaiting would logically be. It talks about the advertisements of movies like Brokeback Mountain and shows like Black Sails and The Runaways, which played up potential straight relationships, only to deliver queer relationships instead.
Unlike queerbaiting, this is not a bad thing. Queerbaiting punches down on a marginalized group. This form of “straightbaiting” is a tactic to get the heterosexual majority to engage more with queer stories when they might not have on their own. So let’s retire straightbaiting as a term for an unconfirmed straight couple, and call it what it is: a “will they, won’t they” trope.