Homoerotic Subtext and TPTB

==Introduction==
The attitudes of showrunners toward homoerotic subtext in their television shows has evolved considerably since the inception of slash fandom, from shocked denials to deliberate fan service. 
In films, subtext was sometimes employed deliberately as a way to avoid censorship. Spartacus (1960) and Ben-Hur (1959) were examples of films with deliberate subtext (and necessary for at least one plot point), where one actor known to be homophobic was kept in the dark, but another actor was told to play it gay. See also The_Celluloid_Closet. However, for many TV slash fandoms up through the 1990s, the canon subtext appears to have been largely accidental.
==Bromance==
==Gay Panic==
Gay Panic is used fannishly to describe cases where TPTB makes a change in a show or other source material because of a fear that too many fans and consumers will see something as "too gay." The fear usually relates to demographics and money, or just plain out-and-out homophobia. The term originates from a legal defense formerly used to acquit gay bashers.
See also the TV Tropes entry.
===Some Examples===
* Many fans felt that the third season of The Sentinel toned down the domestic scenes, those with Jim in an apron, Jim and Blair cooking together, and the flirtatious comments. "... like, Starsky & Hutch and The Sentinel -- I don't think, at the start, TPTB behind those shows were aware of how homoerotic it was, because there was just less awareness of homoeroticism in general (of course, the TS PTB got hip to it...) Whereas SGA's PTB are more aware of that, perhaps, and can make things less homoerotic, intentionally? Not that I think they're standing there going, "You two! Too gay! Back it up!" :) -- a comment by wemblee (August 17, 2006), in response to The Hth Field Guide to Slash & Other Assorted Strange Attractors, posted August 16, 2006 
* The interaction, including the shared lunches between Julian Bashir and Garak, were greatly diminished. for some fannish discussion of this, see the December 1998 issue of Multi-Species Medicine 
* Some fans felt that the sixth season of Simon and Simon suffered from gay panic when Rick moved his boat out of the backyard, and he and AJ didn't share some of the same living quarters anymore.
* other examples?
==Giving Fans the Finger==
The anti-fanservice: When TPTB specifically address the subject of homoeroticism and fans, and not in a good way.
: Dean: There's Sam Girls and Dean Girls and... What's a slash fan? 
:Sam: As in Sam slash Dean. Together. 
:Dean: Like together, together? They do know we're brothers, right? 
:Sam: Doesn't seem to matter. 
:Dean: Oh, come on, that... that's just sick! 
: (from Supernatural)
==Slashwink==
Slashwink was a term used in an After Elton article to describe TPTB's off-hand acknowledgment of a possible same sex relationship in canon. It is a way to create interest in a show without officially committing to that pairing. The concept of slashwink is similar to Queer Baiting, but with a more positive spin.
Some fans enjoy the slashwink and its nudge, nudge connotations and see it as a sort of fan service.
Others don't think it matters all that much: 
Other fans find it insulting that a same sex relationship has to remain a joke, and used simply as a tease to garner more ratings. 
Some fans don't enjoy the slashwink as it brings attention to what they feel should remain underground and subversive: 
==Queer Baiting==
In a fannish context, queer baiting (or queerbaiting) is a term used to describe the perceived attempt by canon creators (typically of television shows) to woo queer fans by introducing a character whose sexuality seems, early on, to be coded as something other than one hundred percent heterosexual. The term encompasses the disappointment and betrayal felt by fans when the canon retreats from that early perceived position of queer inclusion, and clearly marks the sexually ambiguous character as straight.
==References==
==External Resources==
* Slashwink. It's a Thing by Dennis Ayers, posted August 20, 2012, accessed September 29, 2012/second page, with comments/
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Category:Slash Fandom
Category:Industry