Queerplatonic relationships, canon and queerbaiting: Your ship is canonically queer

The following article suggests that many relationships (ships) that are popular in fandom are canonically queer in ways other than sexuality. Fan communities often have heated discussions regarding whether a relationship is canonically queer, queerbaiting or lacks queer representation. This article revisits these ideas of canonical queerness, and re-reads them using newer research regarding queerplatonic relationships. Queerplatonic relationships are a subversive form of friendship that are not considered lesser than heteronormative relationships, making them queer. The phrase ‘queerplatonic’ was developed and popularized by aromantic and asexual communities, though the phrase may be used to describe people who are not aromantic or asexual as well. This article suggests that such relationships are common in texts favoured by fan fiction authors and are regularly featured in fan fiction. In fact, depictions of such relationships have been featured in fan fiction since its early days, before the popularization even of slash fan fiction. As such, this article suggests an understanding of canon that encompasses all three possibilities at once: a canonical relationship can be queer, queerbaiting and lack queer representation, when it is implicit queerplatonic representation.