Sometimes when niche words or phrases enter the general lexicon, they lose all previous meaning. Oftentimes, they’ll adopt a new meaning. In this case, it seems that the meaning has become so watered-down that people have forgotten its origin.
The term “queerbaiting” arose in 2010s fandom, gaining traction in discussion spaces. So what exactly is it? Queerbaiting is the media practice of teasing, but never delivering, queer relationships to attract LGBTQ+ viewers while avoiding alienating others. Take, for example, Sherlock and Supernatural. Both had popular fan ships that the creators used to their advantage, endlessly teasing romance but never actually intending to deliver on it.
