This story was published in Volume 1, Issue 2
By: Quinn O’Donnell
Straight women are coming out of the closet with their love of gay sex, and “Heated Rivalry” is their hottest new obsession.
The Canadian series follows what begins as a casual hookup between two professional hockey players that turns into a love story. Despite the players being on rival teams, the twist that seems to draw the most attention is the fact that both love interests are men.
As far as the sex goes, the unrestricted amount of on-screen ass definitely gets people talking. It only took one episode for the internet to go crazy about Connor Storrie, otherwise known as Illya Rozanov, and more specifically, his butt — from every glorious angle.
According to HBO Max, the series’ premiere hit 500,000 views. By the time the season one finale aired, the show had been streamed 10 times the amount of its premiere, surpassing five million viewers.
Within the first three months of its release, viewership doubled again to 10 million in the U.S. alone. To put that in perspective, it’s equivalent to every Boulder resident bingeing the entire series 83 times.
Almost overnight, the stars of “Heated Rivalry,” Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams (Shane Hollander) became celebrities. Mothers and daughters alike became obsessed, making up 66% of the show’s total viewers, an HBO spokesperson told the New York Times. But why?
Natasha Meyer, owns the first romance only bookstore in Wisconsin, The Well Red Damsel. Her store has sold the “Game Changer” series that the show is based on since their opening day.
“We can barely keep the series in stock,” Meyer said.
That and Rachel Reid’s New York Times best-selling author status are both thanks to the show’s release. But it’s not just getting people into hockey smut.
“So many people are reading romance for the first time because of [the show],” Meyer said.
As LGBTQ+ sex on screen becomes more accessible, the fascination only grows.
“Sex sells. It’s just as true 100 years ago as it is today,” said Connor McHale, a University of Colorado Boulder Media Studies PhD student. “There’s a hunger for it.”
In a world where most mainstream media is dominated by a heteronormative view, queer intimacy is rarely portrayed as honestly or openly as it is in “Heated Rivalry.” What helps is that the show was developed by a queer man for a queer audience, while the book series was the opposite, written by a heterosexual woman for heterosexual women.
Historically, male-on-male romance in literature and film has been geared towards female audiences. This goes beyond the female fetishization of attractive men getting it on. For many, the draw lies in a deeper appeal: equality.
“When the gender dynamics that are typical between men and women are removed, it leaves just this erotic element,” Steven Frost, a CU professor who studies queer history said.
Even though one is the top and one is the bottom, there are no misogynistic power dynamics of a heterosexual relationship. Just two completely equal people being intimate.
“Romance is secondary and desire is first, that’s the real revolutionary part of it,” Frost said.
Hookup culture is at the forefront of modern relationships and it is important to have mainstream media reflect that. No matter how “Bridgerton’s” patriarchy likes to pretend romance still is.
So why are mothers and daughters the biggest fans? Are they just horny? Are the actors just hot? It’s not just about the sex, although it undoubtedly acts as the gateway drug.
“It definitely caught my eye,” Malley Hirchele, an 18-year-old college student, said.
With an overabundance of steamy scenes between two extremely hypermasculine men, the appeal is obvious. Hot guys, hockey, sex … yes, please.
“The thing is we’ve had two gay men before,” Hirchele said. “But this felt different.”
It may have been the sex that drew her and so many others in, but it was the vulnerability of their love story that kept her watching.
But it’s not just college girls who were pulled in. Danielle Linn, a 39-year-old entrepreneur and mother, started watching the show because she “had laundry to fold,” and wanted to see what it was “all about.” After one episode she was all in.
“One of the biggest draws is the confidence and unapologetic joy of queer love. It’s such a juxtaposition to the toxic masculinity we see in our world today, ” Linn said. “It’s refreshing.”
Media and the sex within it, is no longer being made strictly by men for men. Women are in charge; craving equality, honest representation and of course, more of Connor Storrie’s butt.
