Everyone loves Heated Rivalry, but some straight women are being really weird about the series, and it’s time we talk about it.
The Heated Rivalry TV adaptation is everywhere right now. This show follows Shane Hollander and Illya Rozanov, two hockey players on rival teams who fall in love over the course of six episodes. It first aired in Canada late last year and has recently been available everywhere else, widening the viewer base even further.
Straight girls keep inserting themselves in the story of Heated Rivalry
But there’s a growing number of people who are being really odd about the series, especially the two main characters and their real actors. A loud minority of straight women are fetishising the relationship between Shane and Illya, making jokes about “joining in” and focusing on how hot they find them. While there’s nothing wrong with finding Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie attractive, over-sexualising their characters and making jokes about inserting yourself into a gay relationship is just not okay.
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People always turn a blind eye to this when it’s straight girls hyper-sexualising gay relationships, but if a straight man watched a series like Orange Is The New Black and kept talking about how hot the lesbians are and saying he wanted to “join” their relationship, he would get dragged – and rightfully so.
Queer women have been calling this out across socials
I’m not the only one who thinks this. Lesbians and other members of the LGBTQ+ community have been speaking out about the success of Heated Rivalry. Even though we can all agree it’s a fun show, the hype it has gotten from straight women compared to other queer shows is hard to ignore.
@sarahhcmason if this was two women instead of two men y’all wouldn’t care and that’s how i know it’s fetishization
straight women calling the heated rivalry guys ‘my two boyfriends’ is exactly the problem and i’m tired of pretending it’s not #wlw #mlm #heatedrivlary #hbo #lgbt #queer #queerlove #lesbian #gaytok
#gay
“As a lesbian who consumes queer media a lot and enjoys Heated Rivalry, I have also been thinking about the same thing… like if it were two women, it wouldn’t even come close to how popular this show has gotten,” one person on TikTok said.
“It’s fine if straight women love Heated Rivalry, but if they fetishise gay men/don’t actually support real gay people, lesbians, trans people, etc, that’s when it crosses the line for me,” said another.
There’s a way to appreciate stories about men falling in love without making it overly sexual – even when the show itself is super steamy. Let’s not be weird.
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