Heated Rivalry Isn't About Women Ogling Male Bodies
Saying It Is Misses Out on … Love
Spoiler Alerts
Pundits desperately seek an explanation for the breakout success of CraveTV’s Heated Rivalry, as if one’s needed. “Oh, it can’t be due to the sex-positive presentation of gay men! Nah, it’s just the dames ogling hunky male bodies. Yeah, that’s the ticket.”
A Love Story
Various articles declare that women are “feral” for the show.
What the “feral” and “male-bodies” assessments miss is that
this is a love story.
Star-crossed lovers (in Heated Rivalry’s case, two couples) follow their hearts against the backdrop of a sport known for it’s homophobia.1
Nothing New … Just True
That narrative arc is as traditional and charted as Shakespeare. What’s new isn’t the story but men unabashedly, passionately loving each other against all odds. And, really, that itself isn’t NEW. Men have loved each other through the ages, from David and Jonathan, to Achilles and Patroclus, to Ishmael and Queequeg, to Ilya Rozanov/Shane Hollander and Scott Hunter/Kip Grady. What may seem novel to the cis-het dominant culture is that this love is unapologetically and physically authentic.
Love stories have always won our devotion because … love is love is love is love. We don’t need an explanation for why Heated Rivalry has boomed other than it’s a damn good show, acted beautifully and poignantly, as well as directed, cast, produced, shot, and edited by consummate artists.
It’s a phenomenon because it’s flat-out phenomenal. [Spoiler Alert] The Episode-5 scene in which Scott Hunter on-ice kisses Kip Grady is inspiring drama.
Acceptance, Affirmation, Love
[Spoiler Alert] At Hollander’s coming out in Episode 6, my wife, Pam, nailed why Heated Rivalry is so winsome: “The mom’s reaction is what every LGBTQIA+ person wants—acceptance, affirmation, LOVE.” Scott Hunter’s MVP acceptance speech, in turn, offers what the LGBTQIA+ community has proclaimed for centuries—to be accepted and LOVED.
There’s the love story that’s catapulted Heated Rivalry to a fandom that crosses gender, sexual, and cultural divides.
The Deflection
For too long, we’ve rejected the notion that male bodies can and do love. Sure, the bros have no problem with depictions of “girl-on-girl action.” And until recently, it was a comedy staple to cringe at men being sexually attracted to men.
As a trans woman, I have my own take. Watching Heated Rivalry, I surprisingly found myself physically uncomfortable at the sexual intimacy of the lover-heroes. At first, I told myself it was due to my lesbian sexual identity and the body dysphoria I experienced before transitioning. Frankly and ashamedly, however, I now see that, in all my life, I never ideated gay male intimacy in the way I readily accepted the hetero version.
Offering no apologies, Heated Rivalry lets us admire these lovers’ passion.
Maybe, just maybe, credit viewers of all genders and sexual identities
for appreciating a love story.
Breaking the Ice
Many men begrudgingly tolerate a love story because “Chicks like it,” or “It’ll help me score.” Our culture poisons the male bloodstream with an aversion to intimacy, offering more transactional pursuits like victory in war and sports, destroying enemies, and providing for “weak” women and children.
Men finding intimacy, vulnerability, and love for each other in an authentically physical, male way hasn’t been mainstream till this moment. And that’s no accident. It’s time to embrace what our world has denied but has always desired … a plunge through the ice into blessedly deep waters. A plunge we desperately need.
Bethany Beeler writes novels of transformation, love, and self-discovery. To read stories portraying what she says here, go to her Amazon Author Page.
Um, what major men’s professional sport isn’t homophobic?
Thank you, Sarah! I think Pam and I will have to watch it all over again (once we get done with Apple's show, _Shrinking_!)
Love this. Yes.