since rookie season

Race absolutely matters. Racism absolutely exists. But different racial groups are stereotyped in different ways, and those stereotypes can produce completely different social expectations.

For example, I’ve seen people criticize Rachel and Jacob for joking about Hudson being unintelligent because he’s a person of color. If Hudson were Black, I would understand that criticism more, because there is a long history of anti-Black stereotypes portraying Black people as unintelligent. But Hudson is Asian. Asian men are stereotyped in almost the opposite way. They’re often assumed to be intelligent, studious, and academically successful. The stereotype is still racist, but it’s a different stereotype. It doesn’t suddenly become an anti-Asian stereotype just because we’ve replaced “Asian” with the broader category of “POC.”

The same thing happens constantly in fanfiction with Shane.

A lot of writers portray Shane as being afraid to fight because he knows he’ll be judged more harshly than white players. I understand where that idea is coming from, but as a black person I’ve never found it particularly convincing.

If Shane were black, that analysis would make more sense to me. Black men are often stereotyped as aggressive, which means behavior that is considered acceptable from white athletes is often interpreted differently when black ones do it.

But asian men occupy a very different place in the racial imagination. They’re frequently stereotyped as passive, non-threatening, weak, nerdy, emasculated, etc. If racial stereotypes were influencing Shane’s approach to hockey, I could just as easily imagine the opposite dynamic: feeling pressure to prove he’s aggressive enough to belong. Maybe he’s fighting TOO much.

But that doesn’t make sense for Shane. He’s the league’s golden boy. He’s polite, media-friendly, and heavily inspired by Sidney Crosby. He’s a superstar. Fighting is often delegated to players lower on the depth chart whose role is specifically to provide physicality. Star players generally aren’t expected to be enforcers. Teams usually want their elite talent scoring goals, not sitting in the penalty box after dropping the gloves.

So Shane not fighting much doesn’t strike me as evidence of racial pressure. It strikes me as evidence that he’s Shane Hollander.

Crosby is a useful comparison here. For years, people mocked him for not being physical enough (and for talking to the refs too much). They questioned his toughness and masculinity. They called him “Crybaby Crosby” or “Cindy Crosby.” Fans edited photos of him in dresses or makeup. The criticism wasn’t really about hockey. The joke was that he wasn’t a “real man.”

And that’s a white player.

Imagine how much worse those conversations could become if the player in question were Asian.

That’s the kind of racial dynamic I could actually see affecting Shane, not him worrying about people thinking he’s too aggressive, but people questioning whether aggressive ENOUGH.

There’s a good chance that if Shane fought exactly like many white players, he probably still wouldn’t be viewed as tough enough. Meanwhile, if a Black player fought exactly like those same white players, he might be interpreted as more aggressive.

People often criticize Rachel for not doing much racial analysis in the books. But sometimes fandom fills that gap with racial analysis that feels disconnected from both hockey culture and the specific stereotypes that affect different racial groups.

Not every POC experience is interchangeable.

A stereotype that affects Black athletes is not automatically a stereotype that affects Asian athletes. A stereotype that affects Latino athletes is not automatically a stereotype that affects Indigenous athletes.

If we’re going to talk about race- and we should- we have to talk about the actual racial dynamics at play, not just substitute “person of color” for a more specific analysis.

like thats hudson's baby. he gets everything. hudson was so serious when he said connor should only be treated with hugs and cuddles and love and thats all he gives connor.

i love when hes strict

shane & blue

The thought of Connor and acting in this show maybe unlocking things for Hudson that he knew he'd like but hadn't had a chance to try yet or didn't even know did it for him is like pop rocks to me. Or even the having the freedom to just say these thoughts in his head outright to the world and how freeing that could be after being a bit repressed and needing to become comfortable with how naturally tactile and appreciative he is with people. (Aside seeing how much he seems to love sitting in laps and having his lap sat upon makes me tear up. Love that for him! Be free, bb!)

During the scenes it's kinda whatever, professional mode, but later in his apartment? His mind drifts back and is really able to pore over the actual sensations. what it would be like to experience those things for real-real in an explicity sexual situation where he can experience the sensations fully for himself, not shane. and also, practicing enough to make the actions seem natural unintentionally carrying over to real life sometimes. I was already comfortable with you but I had to train my body to accept and crave your touch FOR SHANE so that I could portal him and his desire and also... my desire for you is wrapped up in that too. you caught me the moment our eyes met over zoom when I didn't even know that I was waiting for your arrival in my life. I'm not even into romance but that meet cute is insane! what do you mean you all stared at each other for a couple of seconds before laughing and launching into your first scene and your chemistry was tangible to everyone on the call?!

anyway, back to character bleed, now I'm thinking back to him arching back into Connor and what could only be an obscured ass grab at that one Oscar's after-party and... *key smash*

Apologies for the sappy, incoherent rambles, but hudcon is just so fun to roll around in the sandbox with.

link