Queer coding
 | This article, Queer coding, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary.
Reviewer tools: Inform author |
Queer-Coding is the subtextual portrayal of a queer character in the media whose identity is not explicitly confirmed within canon. This concept refers to a character that encapsulates what might be considered "queer traits" that are recognizable to the audience, but are never labeled or claimed by the content creator. The identification itself of "queer traits" is constantly up for debate within queer communities[1] but an overexaggeration of masculine or effeminate behaviors appears to be at the forefront. This concept is especially useful in the discussion of the Media portrayal of LGBT people and queer representation as a whole.Queer-coding can apply to both queerness in reference to sexuality and to narrative queerness, although it is primarily used culturally to apply to the former. Queer-coding is a useful term not only in discussions of LGBTQ+ representation in media, but in conducting academic research involving queer theory or gender studies.
Impact
Queer-coding is similar to that of queerbaiting in that they both involve implicit undertones of queerness, but unlike queerbaiting's negative connotation, queer-coding is somewhat of a neutral trope. That being said, it's neutrality does not exclude it's negative impact, such as the tendency for villains to be the queer-coded opposite of the standard masculine male hero. Members of the queer community have repeatedly pointed out the Walt Disney Company’s continued attribution of queer characteristics and behaviors to villainous or antagonistic characters [2]. Culture critics have claimed that this attribution can lead to a negative association between queerness and immoral, licentious behavior. [3] [4]. Even if the villains were not portrayed as “evil” because of their queerness, the association between queer characteristics and unethical figures remains. The connection between villains and queerness is one of the most prevalent examples of queer-coding that has occured repeatedly in entertainment.
History
The idea of non explicit queer-coding likely stems from the strict regulations of how queer characters were able to be portrayed in the early days of film-making [5].In 1930, The Hays Code was established as a standard for what was allowed to be shown on the big screen[6][7]. According to the code, films were not allowed to portray "perverse" subjects such as homosexuality, which inevitably led to the portrayal of non-explicit queer characters. The trend of the inclusivity of queer characters in a subtextual way likely bled into modern portrayals of queer characters. Commentary on the treatment of LGBT+ characters in film is made in the 1995 documentary The Celluloid Closet, and is one of the first instances in which the idea of queer-coding is presented to the public[8].
Examples
The following list is comprised of characters who queer commentators have defined as queer-coded:
- Scar from The Lion King
- Hades from Hercules
- Jafar from Aladdin
- Scorpia and Catra from She-Ra: Princess of Power
- Ursula from The Little Mermaid
- HIM from Power Puff Girls
- The Joker from the DC Universe
- Governor Ratcliffe from Pocahontas
- Susie Myerson from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- Mrs. Danvers from Rebecca (1940 film)
References
- ^ https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1gk08zz.55
- ^ http://www.marginsmagazine.com/2015/12/18/fabulously-fiendish-disney-villains-and-queer-coding
- ^ https://controlforever.com/read/queercoding-and-horror-films
- ^ https://www.pride.com/geek/2019/4/07/10-queer-coded-gay-villains-our-childhood#media-gallery-media-2
- ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_homosexuality_in_American_film
- ^ “Origins of the Code.” Hitchcock and the Censors, by JOHN BILLHEIMER, University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 2019, pp. 9–23. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvfjcx5v.4.
- ^ https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode
- ^ “Youth, Realism and Form.” Straight Girls and Queer Guys: The Hetero Media Gaze in Film and Television, by Christopher Pullen, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2016, pp. 147–168. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1bgzbtn.12.
| This article, Queer coding, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary.
Reviewer tools: Inform author |