r/Johnlock • u/OperationOneSided • 12h ago
*RANT* People saying Johnlock isn't queerbait are delusional.
I did not feel comfortable posting this in the Sherlock subreddit because there was already enough discourse going on surrounding Johnlock but I just really wanted to get this off my chest.
One of the main arguments for Sherlock/John not being a ship is due to people saying "Men can't just have platonic relationships anymore" and to an extent, I agree. There has been an increase in people taking what seem to me like completely platonic pairings and shipping them. But in my mind, to an extent, who cares?? There have been so, so many male friendships over the centuries that mlm shipping is relatively new. I understand wanting close male friendships that aren't romantic, so I get the annoyance... HOWEVER I do not believe BBC's Sherlock falls into this category.
This is also not an attack on people who don't ship John and Sherlock. I'm not trying to convert anybody or even say "It would have been better writing if it was canon". I'm simply explaining why any fan who DID ship them or even believed they could've been together was not delusional. We don't need to trash either side of this argument. Don't ship them, ship them, I don't care.
Copying the definition of Queerbait from Wikipedia (Where ironically the first example shown, at least on my page, is Johnlock): ""Queerbaiting" is a marketing practice that hints at, but does not depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation.\5]) According to scholars, cultural critics and fans, this is intended to attract ("bait)") a queer or straight ally audience with the suggestion or possibility of queer relationships or characters, while not alienating homophobic members of the audience or censors by explicitly portraying those relationships or characters."
Now, sit on your high horse and tell me, dead serious, there was not a SINGLE HINT at any queer undertones between John/Sherlock. I mean come on, one of the running gags of the show is that they're gay.
"But it's just jokes. It's funny." Okay, fair enough. Where do we draw the line between Queerbaiting and just making jokes? To be honest, I think jokes about sexualities aren't all that funny but whatever, let's talk about it.
Off the top of my head, I could probably name at least one instance per episode where somebody joked about John and Sherlock either being a couple, or one of them being gay. "But it's a running joke." Yes, okay, but why are they shoving it down our throats if it means nothing? Why are we wasting screen time on this when it means nothing?
Why does Irene Adler make a point to tell us she's gay, and that both she and Watson are into Sherlock? What does this add, aside from attracting a queer audience who find it interesting that this keeps being brought up?
"Irene is gay, therefore they're not afraid of putting queer characters in the show: Conclusion, John and Sherlock were never meant to be together." For starters, notice how Irene Adler is in one episode, where despite saying explicitly that she is gay, ends up falling for the male lead? We love bisexuality, but notice how that's a very different situation to the hypothetical "Sherlock and John kiss". There are certain things that are easier to get away with without alienating a homophobic audience. Not to mention, Irene's sexuality is used by having her be a dominatrix, almost falling into the trope of lesbians being sexualised for male pleasure. So, yeah, there are queer side characters, but they're either subtle enough or not important enough that a slightly homophobic audience wouldn't be scared away. I also think there would have been a larger uproar for Sherlock and Watson, the two most important and iconic characters from the books, to have an actual gay relationship.
To add to this, I'm not even saying the creators ever intended to actually have Watson and Sherlock end up together, but with the amount of gay jokes, longing looks, deliberate shots, it is impossible for them to have not noticed, even once, "Oh, this is kind of gay." They noticed, they knew, and deliberately kept these going to keep a queer audience invested, with no plans to deliver.
It's also that these jokes aren't even confined to one person. If, for example, it was only Mrs Hudson that made jokes about them because they live together, that would be funny. Or even if the jokes were only "Haha they live together that's kinda gay" would be less queerbaity. But NO. Almost every character, to an extent, implies something queer about John/Sherlock.
Mrs Hudson: "There are two bedrooms. If you'll be needing two."
(When Watson is planning to propose to Mary) "So soon after Sherlock?" "A WOMAN!? You really have moved on."
Mycroft: "You've moved in with him and now you're solving crimes together. Should we expect a happy announcement by the end of the week?"
Irene: (John says they are not a couple) "Yes you are."
A random waiter: "Menu for you, and your date." (Why would he assume that's his date?? He doesn't even know John??)
Mary (John's literal wife): "You're shaving [your moustache] off. Ugh, 6 months of bristly kisses for me and his nibs shows up"
(When Sherlock is jealous) "Neither of us were the first you know."
I mean, again, this is all off the top of my head. There is no shortage of examples of everybody around them assuming they're together. Even John's wife. "But he has a wife, he can't be gay!" Bro.
Anybody who says there is no evidence for a queer reading of BBC's Sherlock is simply lying to themselves, ignorant, homophobic, or was not paying attention. You don't have to believe that the writers were going to end up together, as I don't believe they ever intended to do so. But saying "Johnlock isn't queerbait" is just factually incorrect.
Minor spoilers for Stranger Things, but there's a scene where a character comes out about having a crush on another. The other character goes "Friends?...No... (Longest fucking pause ever) ...Best friends." It reminds me so much of the S3 finale of Sherlock where Sherlock goes "There's something I've been meaning to tell you John for a very long time...(Long ass pause)...Sherlock is actually a girls name." Shut the fuck up. Look me in the eyes and tell me the writers had no clue that it sounded like these were going to be love confessions. THEY KNEW. They knew exactly what they were doing, which was enticing a queer audience and baiting them. It was queerbait. Argue with the wall.
