Undercover in a Gay Bar

Going undercover in a gay bar is a slash trope commonly used in fanfiction written for buddy cop fandoms or AUs based on a police or investigative partnership. In these stories, two same-sex characters (at least one straight-identified) must pose as lovers at a gay bar to solve a crime, but during the course of their investigation, they discover that they are attracted to each other.
The gay bar is optional as long as they are undercover as a gay couple in an environment where acting on their attraction will be socially acceptable.
The Starsky/Hutch novella Murder on San Carmelitas is probably amongst the earliest examples of the trope. 
==Examples==
*Wrapped in a Red Ribbon by auburnnothenna (SGA). John and Rodney undercover as a gay couple in a BDSM club.
*Going Deep by AnneZo (Once a Thief). Vic and Mac pretending to be lovers and moving to a gay neighborhood to solve a missing person case.
* Sky Blue and Black by Sylvia Bond (Starsky and Hutch). The partners go undercover in a gay bar to catch a killer named Joshua Bright.
*Dance While You Can by Alexandra (Professionals). "Bodie and Doyle are sent undercover in a gay bar to catch a blackmailer and discover it is agony to keep their hands off each other."recommendations by allaire mikháil, 23 May 2000. (Accessed 17 April 2010)
*More Certain in Affection by Keiko Kirin (Master and Commander). "Stephen has arranged for a source to stay at a gentleman’s club that caters to a particular sort of gentleman, with particular tastes; Jack, unknowing, follows him there. Possibly this is the Age of Sail version of the “undercover in a gay bar” trope, but it is handled so deftly and sensitively here that it seems completely in keeping with canon. Jack’s utter obliviousness is just wonderful."Hieroglyfics Recs - fanfiction and fanvid recommendations by Isis, 13 May 2009. (Accessed 17 April 2010)
*Number Eight by Speranza (Due South). 
*The Truth in the Lie by flawedamythyst (Supernatural). Sam and Dean pretend to be a couple on a gay couples' bus tour of Nova Scotia in order to hunt a monster. 
*Mr Rosso Goes to Hawaii‎ by Siria (Hawaii Five-0). Steve McGarrett and Danny Williams try to infiltrate a drug cartel by posing as a gay married (gangster) couple.
*Eating At Home by Helen (The Sentinel). As described by the author--"...the first installment in the Conventions a-go-go Series, in which Jim and Blair have an undercover moment."Helen's Sentinel slash page. (Accessed 28 Jan, 2012.)
*this city bleeds its aching heart by Renne (Captain America Movieverse). Steve and Bucky go undercover as a gay couple in the suburbs.
==Resources==
*Fanworks tagged with undercover as gay or gay bar at AO3.
==The Trope in Original Media==
In original media, the trope is often used to showcase the discomfort of the straight-identifying cop and to highlight the otherness of the gay community. The fanfiction trope is often an intentional subversion of this idea. 
*The 1980 film Cruising may well be the first example of the trope used in original media. In that film, Al Pacino goes undercover to hunt a gay serial killer. The film was widely criticized as homophobic both during filming and after its release.Looking Back at "Cruising", accessed April 17, 2010 
*The 1982 film Partners, starring Ryan O'Neil and John Hurt, used the same set up, murders in the gay community, to tell a story about an unlikely partnership between a butch straight cop and his stereotypically mousy gay partner who falls in love with him during their assignment. Scraping the barrel: Eight of the worst gay depictions in film, accessed April 17, 2010 
*In the Fastlane episode, Strap On, Billie Champers pretends to be a lesbian and picks up a suspect in a lesbian bar in order to catch a killer. This story is remarkable in that Billie's sexuality is never clearly stated and she is never shown expressing discomfort at her surroundings.Sarah Warn. "Fastlane" Lesbian Episode a Fun But Uneven Ride, AfterEllen.com, January 18, 2003, Accessed April 16, 2010
==References==
Category:Romance Tropes
Category:Slash Fandom