jess ☆

Heated Rivalry is a popular gay romance show and book (Heated Rivalry and The Long Game from the "Game Changers" series), and I will agree that the show is good and that I am active in the fandom. But in the fandom I see a lot of women. Now, women in this space isn’t a bad thing. Of course it isn’t, everyone is welcome in any fandom that they please, but there is a large percentage of women in the fandom causing issues, especially with gay men.

Before HR became a thing, fetishising gay men and queer romance was still a large thing. But ever since HR took off in popularity, the people who fetishise queer people have basically flocked toward the fandom with zero regard and respect for those who find comfort in the show because it’s either relatable or decent representation.

I’ve watched men get harassed on the internet and get told “it’s just a joke!” By these women almost daily. I’ve watched men make entire videos saying how they’re scared to post their same gendered friends online because of the comments they know they’ll receive if they do.

Of course women get harassed like this too, and that is just as vile, but this post is to bring attention to the topic about fetishisation in HR.

It’s become normalised for women to want MLM relationships but still want to remain a woman. I’ve seen SOME women fake being transgender just to “experience gay life”, and I honestly find this very disturbing and disrespectful towards actual FTM men and gay men. Many of these people also view gay relationships as an aesthetic and not real people experiencing feelings and expressing them for one another.

Mind you, these women probably wouldn’t touch a bi man with a twenty foot pole.

People will probably read this and say “well they could be questioning their sexuality and gender” like one of my irl friends did when I told them my hot take.

And very well, they could be. But I find it suspicious that women suddenly switch back and forth from being ftm and cis every time a new gay show comes out.

I’m not saying HR caused this. Absolutely not. What i’m saying is that people have used being a fan of the show to fetishise queer people and take advantage of the 'harmless jokes' they can make within the fandom.

Not everyone is like this, not everyone is storming communities just because they seem to have ‘hotter and better relationships’, and i’m not directly saying that people questioning their sexuality and gender can’t go around trying things out. What i’m saying is that women should not romanticise gay men just because of a damn TV show about hockey rivals who gained feelings. I’m saying that communities who built their way up shouldn’t be ruined by people only wanting a “quick experience” or to live a double life.

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Anyways, thanks for reading my take on this.

The post may seem like sentences are out of place or things aren’t worded well, and that’s because I ofc decided to write and post this at 4 in the morning.