Heated Rivalry: Why This Hockey Show is a Hit with Women & Queer Audiences

‘Heated Rivalry’ scores big with women, queer fans in conservative Asia For the past couple of months, a show about hockey has been providing heat for many. The Canadian streaming adaptation of Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry has tongues wagging and salivating. The storyline follows the usual enemies-to-lovers trope, except this time it revolves around professional male hockey players from opposing teams. Many were pleasantly surprised that HBO Asia decided to stream it in our mostly homophobic and conservative region. This resulted in compounded traction, with people—mostly women and queer audiences—gagging over the apparent lack of gag reflex the characters seem to have. There were even watch parties in Cebu, because squealing in unison is a joy when recorded and shared all over TikTok. So, why is a show—softcore porn about gay hockey players—a massive hit? One clear answer is social media. Fanfare spread like wildfire over this shared experience amidst global turmoil and division. Women and gay men appreciate that while the show may be explicit, it is neither graphic nor lurid. The tension comes from fear and longing more than from mere sexual release. In the U.S. and Canada, even some straight men are drawn to it because it’s still a show about “bros,” and some even admit these men can teach a thing or two about slow, tender affection. But this is not a new phenomenon, particularly across East and Southeast Asia. There is a massive source of male homoerotica, mostly consumed by women. From yaoi in Japanese comics to the problematically named BL (Boy Love) TV shows from Thailand, stories of forbidden love overcoming societal barriers offer not just queer visibility. This same-sex male affection also serves as a substitute in cultures where women’s bodies and sexuality are heavily policed. In communist China, for instance, there is a lockdown on internet platforms hosting these homosexual stories, which are popular among women and written by women. Apparently, in certain cultures, it is unthinkable for women to be openly sexual, so their desires are subsumed through the male homosexual body. Furthermore, the gaze is vital: women look at desire differently than straight men, whose porn is often about conquest, power, subjugation, and the squeals of those they penetrate. Many women tend to focus more on the build-up and the implied. This is why romance is a billion-dollar book industry. After all, imagination informed by affection is something many men fail at, which is why sexual refuge is provided by shows like Heated Rivalry.