Emerson Pieper, staff writer
I am positive that most people have at least heard about “Heated Rivalry,” either from having watched it, seen clips of it, or just heard it being talked about. This book-to-show adaptation has impacted multiple communities for the better… and for the worse. I think that it’s interesting how fans are obsessed with the gay relationship between the characters while actively sending death threats to the actual gay actors from the show. The reason why they are okay with it is only if they’re able to sexualize the relationship between the two characters, just because it makes them excited that they can sexualize the actors.
Not surprisingly, this never happens with lesbian couples. There is less lesbian media than there is gay media. I think the answer to why is also clear: straight women are not interested in watching two girls in a relationship because they don’t enjoy watching a love story with no male character to fawn over.
Not surprisingly, this never happens with lesbian couples. There is less lesbian media than there is gay media.
Emerson pieper
Fans have flocked to Hudson Williams, the actor who plays Shane Hollander, in particular, despite the fact that he has not confirmed his sexuality. Not that anything is wrong with that; Williams played his role very respectfully and is a loud advocate for queer people. But one thing that bothers me about it is that people claim that Williams is white-passing. Williams is not white-passing, but hey, anything they can do to make him more appealing to them, right?
This sort of toxic relationship that these fans are having with gay media in general is starting to shift onto real-life people. Hockey has always had those kinds of comments; I am aware of this, but it has definitely gotten a lot worse since the show came out. I’m a San Jose Sharks fan, so they’re really the only ones that I can point to for reference, as I am pretty active within their community. Therefore, I will be exclusively focusing on the comments toward their team.
Oddly, most of their attention has gone to two specific players. Macklin Celebrini, who is 19 years old, and Will Smith, who is 20 years old. These two are extremely close and are “enemies to lovers,” as fans have put it. Really, they’re just two young men who got close because of being drafted at the same time and being close in age. They play the same lineup and have a good connection on and off the ice. Fans who flocked to them from the show have taken their friendship and run with it. I will also point out that some people who were already fans before the sudden fame of the team sexualized Celebrini and Smith’s relationship after the show as well.
All this being said, I do think that “Heated Rivalry” did some really good things for the queer community. Sports have always been a gray area towards queer people, and slurs have been commonly used in the locker room as “playful chirping” towards teammates. Already, this makes the space not welcoming to gay athletes, causing some people to stop playing sports completely despite really enjoying it, or suppressing themselves from being who they are. All this just so that they can keep playing the sport that they love or leave to keep themselves safe. This show has started to open up the door for gay athletes to have a space for them to thrive as they are.
“Heated Rivalry” has helped many people feel proud and comfortable coming out. Athletes have been showing their true selves. Some athletes have even risked their place on a team because of the support they felt from the show, from how they felt represented in the show, and/or may have seen themselves in the characters. Overall, I think that this show has given a huge boost to the queer community in the sports spaces, even through the sexualization that it has sparked.