Queerbaiting

The cast and crew of Sherlock have consistently denied that the relationship between the titular detective and his flatmate is intended to be seen as romantic. Critics have called the depiction queerbaiting.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Queerbaiting is a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but do not depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation.^[6] The purpose of this method is to attract ("bait") a queer or straight ally audience with the suggestion or possibility of relationships or characters that appeal to them,^[7] while not alienating homophobic members of the audience or censors by actually portraying queer relationships.^{[citation needed]}

Queerbaiting has been observed in popular culture and fiction such as films, television series, books, music, ads, various forms of media, but also in celebrities who convey an ambiguous sexual identity through their works and statements.^[8] The term arose in and has been popularized through discussions in Internet fandom^[9] since the early 2010s.^[10] It comes from a larger history of LGBTQ+ discourse in media representation dating back to the 1970s from subtle marketing to LGBTQ+ people through commercials and books.^[11]