Will Byers And Sexuality: Why Is 'Stranger Things' Being Accused Of Queerbaiting?

After Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2 premiered, fans were reeling but also not surprised by yet another scene that once alluded that Will Byers, played by Noah Schnapp is gay. Viewers of the show have assumed that the character of Will was queer since the first season, and with each season more signs pointed toward Will not being interested in girls and liking boys. The accusation of Stranger Things queerbaiting audiences is not a recent accusation and fans have grown frustrated over the seasons. After no confirmation within the show or outside of the show that Will is canonically queer, fans wonder if Stranger Things is queerbaiting them.

The refusal to explicitly confirm that Will is a part of the LGBTQIA+ community has fans frustrated and confused and has resulted in accusations of  Stranger Things queerbaiting.

There are certain scenes that imply that Will is queer, such as Finn Wolfhard’s character Mike Wheeler saying, “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls” to Will or him doing a project on Alan Turing, the gay mathematician and computer scientist.

Actors in the show have also alluded to the relationship between the aforementioned Mike and Will, and Will’s sexuality. In an ">interview, David Harbour said “If you’ve been watching the show, then you should know that Will is not interested in El. He’s interested in someone else in the group.”

Scenes and actors implying that Will is queer but it never being explicitly confirmed has increased the number of accusations of Stranger Things queerbaiting the audience.

What Is Queerbaiting?

Queerbaiting is a marketing strategy where viewers and audiences are drawn in with the promise of queer characters or queer relationships. Instead of showing a queer character or a relationship, the fans are ‘baited’ by the false promises that are never fulfilled.

Why is this an issue? LGBTQIA+ representation is hard to find and is often created by cisgender heterosexual people rather than members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Queerbaiting acknowledges that queer audiences are starved for content and exploit it for the sake of viewership.

Fans Believe Stranger Things Queerbaiting The Audience

Four seasons of Stranger Things have been released and while there are constant hints that Will is gay, there has been no confirmation in the show or by the actors or creators.

Fans expressed their frustration with leaving Will’s sexuality up to the “audience’s interpretation”. One user said that they were tired of shows “dropping hints to reel in a queer audience but never confirming it to keep your conservative audience”.

Fans are perplexed by how the show could confirm that bullies used homophobic slurs against Will, but not confirm Will’s queerness.

Since Maya Hawke's character Robin Buckley was confirmed to be a lesbian in the season she debuted, fans don't understand why Stranger Things is unwilling to confirm Will's sexuality.

Still from Stranger Things 4 

Is Stranger Things Queerbaiting Their Audience?

While fans are concerned that the show is queerbaiting the audience to draw in views, the show could be attempting a slow reveal instead. Is the show queerbaiting or playing the long game? Until the show ends or explicitly states that Will is queer, people cannot confirm whether or not the show is queerbaiting (similarly to how the show isn’t confirming whether or not Will is queer).

In order for a show to be queerbaiting, the queer coded character or queer relationship must be marketed specifically to draw in audiences without any intention of having LGBTQIA+ representation.

Since shows like Stranger Things prefer to keep aspects of the show hidden until the premiere, there is a chance that Will is queer and that they’ve been building up to the reveal.  However, the point still stands that Will’s sexuality is clearly something queer audiences want confirmation of and prolonging the reveal and only dropping hints leads viewers to believe they are being misled for the sake of viewership numbers.

Suggested Reading: Five Queer Youths Talk About The Time They Came Out To Families, Their Response

What Is The Issue With Queerbaiting?

Older industry guidelines banned homosexual content and films and shows that showed queer relationships were often banned, for example, the 1996 film Fire. In order to avoid that, creators often implied that certain characters were queer but were unable to confirm it. However, it is 2022 and censorship laws are not hindering Netflix or other major production companies from showing queer content in a majority of countries.

Years of being drawn in by shows or movies implying to have queer representation and then finding out it was a marketing scheme has made queer audiences cynical.

Queerbaiting turns what could be a meaningful and beautiful queer representation and avoids explicitly confirming it for the sake of reeling in audiences while staying in the good graces of conservative audiences.

When the media partakes in queerbaiting, they have their cake and eat it too. They have the support of queer audiences but choose not to confirm a character’s sexuality so that they don’t lose money made from conservative audiences.

The views expressed are the author’s own.