Is A Gay Hockey Romance Good For Sport?
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What themes are explored in the gay hockey romance 'Heated Rivalry'?
Exploring both interstellar and interpersonal space-time continuums. The Last Show with David Cooper. Hockey. It's supposed to be about broken teeth and bad blood, not longing glances between men in the penalty box. So what happens when a gay romance TV show melts the ice? Is it cultural progress? Is it a great show? Is it both? That's what we're going to discuss here with author and associate professor of health studies at Western University, Trina Orchard. Trina, welcome to the show.
It is fabulous to be here.
We are talking heated rivalry. I finally finished it on Monday night. It is a wholesome show. It is a fun show.
How does 'Heated Rivalry' challenge traditional hockey narratives?
It is a steamy show. What did you make of it when you first saw it?
Well, when I first saw it, and I should say that I'm on my fifth viewing.
So it's safe to say that you're not a fan at all.
No, no, no, no. When I first saw it, I didn't know what hit me. I didn't know what to expect. I hadn't read any of the books. I'm not a huge romance fan. I know nothing about hockey. And I was hit with, like, a bag of bricks. I was... Well, first of all, the main characters, Shane and Ilya, are sumptuous to look at.
They are not hard on the eyes, I will say this.
And you could... Just the amount of tension between them. It was so... It was electric.
What makes 'Heated Rivalry' a wholesome portrayal of gay romance?
It was charged. It kept me wanting to know what is going to happen, you know? And I was just... I was hooked immediately. And I had... No idea how much I would fall in love with this show, like so many people, and how much of my time it would soon occupy.
Now, at the risk of bringing, like, a conversation up from the last 15 years ago, I want to bring up another gay romance I saw many years ago, Brokeback Mountain. That movie was littered with sadness. One of the characters dies. There's a lot of, like, heavy negative elements. What I was so struck by was the sheer amount of joy in heated rivalry. It's not that there aren't some negative, you know, traumatic elements there, but predominantly it's... Quite a wholesome show. And I think a narrative like that is something that I hadn't really seen. I'm sure there are other shows and movies like that. But talk to me about this.
Why is emotional vulnerability important in sports culture?
Why it doesn't seem to be so common to just have a straightforward, joyful portrayal of gay romance on TV or in film.
I think it sometimes has to do with who's writing the books and who's producing the media. Because if it's sort of the normal cis het kind of folks writing the books and being the producers and directors and showrunners, we're going to get some of those same sort of myths and stories repeated. And I think that having queer folks in important positions of power producing media, we are going to get stuff that is much more representative and that makes space for non-tragedy that makes space for love in a way that helps people feel seen and also encouraged especially within the context of sport I think that is a really important framing of this story and why it's hitting as well because we often hear about hockey we hear sexual and gender-based violence
And there was the big hockey trial this year. So in terms of bookends, having the hockey trial on the one end and then wrapping up 2025 with this amazing show on the other, it sparked a lot of hope, I think.
Yeah.
Yeah, and to put it lightly, hockey culture leans slightly macho, I might say. You have done some research in the area of masculinity and vulnerability. Emotional vulnerability is not something I've often seen portrayed in hockey players, like real NHL hockey players. These themes come up in the show, though. It's kind of striking that in that context of this hyper-masculine-macho sports culture, there can be true vulnerability and sweet vulnerability online. What do you make of all that?
Well, I think it's a way of showing that masculinity takes many shapes and sizes and shades and also that intimacy can be part of a strong, sexy way of doing relationships that are queer.
How does queer representation impact the perception of masculinity in hockey?
You know, both characters don't identify in the same space, right? Ilya is bi. Shane finds intimacy. through the series that he is gay.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What themes are explored in the gay hockey romance 'Heated Rivalry'?
0:02–0:44
2
How does 'Heated Rivalry' challenge traditional hockey narratives?
0:44–1:26
3
What makes 'Heated Rivalry' a wholesome portrayal of gay romance?
1:26–2:20
4
Why is emotional vulnerability important in sports culture?
2:20–4:21
5
How does queer representation impact the perception of masculinity in hockey?
4:21–5:42
6
What role do queer creators play in shaping media narratives?
5:42–7:08
7
How can positive portrayals of gay relationships influence mental health in sports?
7:08–8:16
8
What is the significance of fan reactions to the actors in 'Heated Rivalry'?
8:16–9:44
Speakers
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