The Women of ‘The View’ Talking About ‘Heated Rivalry’ Is As Great As You’d Think
They get it.
This year’s unexpected Christmas miracle, hands down, is the way that Heated Rivalry has assembled a massive, enthusiastic fandom. That even extends to the hosts of The View, whose discovery of the gay hockey boys exceeds expectations.
The segment, which circulated on X in the wake of the monumental fifth episode of the Crave Original series, focused on the show’s appeal to female audiences in particular.
“It’s interesting,” begins Joy Behar, “these girls, these women, are very interested in the gay romance. I don’t think they’re sexually attracted to them. I think it’s about the romance.” That’s certainly a take that pops up when folks try to rationalize why women like watching men kiss each other–a phenomenon that I personally enjoy unpacking but don’t find all that mystifying, to be honest.
Some of the other ladies of The View may agree. Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro quickly cut Behar off, assuring her that if she saw the fictional hockey players in question she would not rule out attraction. Navarro in particular attested that she was “fanning herself for two days” after starting the series. Then Sara Haines jumped in to praise the writing, and Hostin cuts her off by joking that “oh mama, this isn’t about the writing.” Her focus is clearly elsewhere, like that “blah blah blah, proper name, place name, backstory stuff” meme/moment from The Lego Movie.
They’re all right about why we love Heated Rivalry.
What’s great about the clip is that we get multiple perspectives about Heated Rivalry‘s appeal. That’s the whole concept of The View, after all. The beautiful thing is that, in this particular case, they’re all valid! Some folks are tuning in for the romance. Good romantic comedies and dramas is hard to come by these days. We’re starving, folks! The writing is good, dialogue-wise, structurally, and as an adaptation of an already popular romance novel series. There’s no denying that it is a contributing factor to why the show has clicked with so many people.
But if you just want to watch hot guys, come on in! There’s more than enough room for you on the proverbial couch as well. When it comes to why women are attracted to this story, you can get into the minutiae of heteronormative, patriarchal storytelling and its portrayal of masculinity and how this offers female audiences an alternative… or keep it simple. They’re hot!
(featured image: Sabrina Lantos/HBO)
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