Hi! I know “queer coding” has an actual meaning but the meaning is muddled by other people. Do you think you could explain to me what “queer coding” actually is, and how to spot actual queer coding? Thanks in advance!
Hey friend. I have some news that you probably won’t actually like.
“Queer coding” is when a writer gives a character culturally stereotypical gay traits, but the character isn’t actually said out loud to be queer, or allowed to do anything explicitly queer on screen.
For instance in a 1980s sitcom, a male character who dresses nicely, speaks with a lisp, ‘minces’ (walks in a gay way), and is ‘limp wristed’ and unmarried is “queer coded”.
Coding is exactly what it sounds like– speaking on “code” to get around being censored. For a long time in america (and still elsewhere), being gay or queer was considered unfit for audiences of fiction.
And so, when authors wanted to include queer characters– often for comedy or as villains– they were given stereotypical queer traits that the audience would read as obviously queer, without having to say it.
Queer coding is not *generally* a good thing.
Sometimes it was used by queer writers to be able to portray queer characters during times of censorship.
But more very often it was used to portray queerness as something worthy of mockery (used for comedy), or something to be hated and feared (hence all the queer coded villains).
Queer coding is different from queer subtext which is when the narrative is subtly hinting at a possible queer reading or interpretation of the character.
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