According to Dictionary.com, queerbaiting is the practice of implying non-heterosexual relationships or attraction in media to attract an LGBTQ audience and create interest in a series/movie without ever actually depicting such relationships or sexual interactions.
Let’s be honest, fellow LGBTQs, we’ve all been let down by our favorite series at some point due to unnecessary and sometimes even borderline offensive queerbaiting. If you watched a certain show where a gay angel and a hunter pined after one another for so many seasons with no real return on investment, or you find yourself wondering when the firefighters are going to finally kiss: you’re not alone.
So many of us have been let down by our favorite television series and movies, and all of us deserve better. We all deserve to see diverse love in the media we consume, and to see it authentically. We deserve to not be strung along for episodes after episode, season after season, only to come to the realization that we won’t be seeing any follow-through on what has been hinted at.
Our Flag Means Death has provided the perfect love story, has followed through where so many series and movies have not before, provides representation in the way that we all deserve, and has wrapped it all up into a heartwarming adventure tale.
I’ve promised myself that I wouldn’t include spoilers in this article. After all, you deserve to watch this series exactly as I (and so many others) have — to be surprised and delighted as the tale progresses, to be drawn in as love blossoms and we see these characters swept off of their feet. You deserve to watch these characters learn to love and embrace themselves, their true hearts’ desires, and the waves of support that are cast over them from those around them as they find their happiness.
You know how you can just tell when a non-heterosexual relationship or attraction is introduced to a series or movie just to gain diversity points? You won’t get that from this series. Have you grown tired of seeing non-binary characters used in media, only to discover that the character is an alien/robot/some other kind of non-human? You won’t get that from this series, either. This creative team didn’t just stuff in a variety of gender identities and sexualities to appeal to a specific audience. They did it to celebrate the reality and beauty that is humanity.
Our Flag Means Death shows queer characters being true to themselves, appreciated by those around them, that being queer isn’t fiction, and that the best stories are told when the diversity of humanity is embraced, celebrated and shown for exactly what diversity is: real.
If you’ve felt turned away by other series because of who you are: don’t fret. Our Flag Means Death is here, ready to embrace you, and is a safe space full of so many characters you will absolutely adore.
My spoiler-free review for Our Flag Means Death can be found here, and you can watch the trailer for the series below. Trust me, this isn’t a series you want to miss.
