Heated Rivalry and the Cultural Permission gap: Why WLW Stories Don’t Break Through

After it's TV debut in November, Heated Rivalry has become a cultural phenomenon, sparking important conversations about identity, bravery and sex. The screen adaptation has been enormously popular among young people, sportspeople, and even heterosexual women. Beneath the steamy sex scenes and tense ice-hockey playing, its refreshing depiction of gay relationships has meant the show has resonated with masses of individuals. Initially debuting in Canada and the US, the show has since grabbed attention in the UK, with its fifth episode scoring a perfect 10/10 rating on IMDb. Undoubtedly the show has had a profound impact on its watchers, and at a time when political and cultural attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community are particularly precarious, the significance of this kind of media representation is vast. 

Despite the show’s success, some viewers are asking if there could ever be a female version? 

Women loving women (WLW) representation is not necessarily scarce in media and culture, though it’s not often a lesbian show has a cultural chokehold like Heated Rivalry has. Many of us will have heard of shows like The L Word, Orange is The New Black and The Hunting Wives, but how common is it for a show like this to truly dominate the media realm?

While many lesbian-focused shows and films resonate with fellow women loving women, they rarely seem to grab the attention of heterosexual individuals in the way Heated Rivalry has. Let’s also not disregard the countless lesbian characters and lesbian sex-scenes included in various films that were evidently placed there for straight-male fetishisation. Heated Rivalry seems to center queer intimacy for queer people, whereas many lesbian scenes unfortunately exist for the straight male gaze.

Essentially, the reason a lesbian show has not been as far-reaching as Heated Rivalry is not due to a lack of content, but rather a lack of cultural permission. Lesbians stories do exist in film and TV, yet they never seem to be treated as events. Through its huge reach, it’s clear that Heated Rivalry is framed as universal, with its queerness not limiting its targeted audience. Straight women have been raving online about this programme, when was the last time straight men raved about a lesbian-centred show? When was the last time straight men watched lesbian shows other than for the sex scenes? But then again, should we be making WLW with heterosexual men in mind at all?

You see WLW representation more frequently now, though it is usually on the margins of media, rather than the centre. It’s usually the “lesbian friend” or the “lesbian aunt”, with these queer women pushed to the side to simply accompany the main heterosexual storyline. It can feel at times that lesbian representation in the media feels like it’s simply there to tick boxes. 

In spite of the unsettled nature of culture at the moment, general lesbian representation is rife. Women’s sports, female singers, actresses and even female presenters all include phenomenal, openly-queer individuals in their cohort (think of Chappell Roan, Alex Scott, Beth Mead, Doechii, Ruby Rose), yet fictional film and TV just has this sense of lacking. 

Where are all the lesbians? Where are all the intimate, deeply-explored storylines that get afforded to gay men? The number of lesbians around in comparison to the entire population may seem small,  but the same goes for murderers, and there is certainly a satisfactory amount of TV and film based on them. 

In order for a female version of Heated Rivalry to grip nations, cultural permission must change. Lesbian TV shows and films must be compelling, made, not for fetishisation, but for genuine, personal representation. Perhaps a WLW series will come and sweep us all off our feet in 2026, or maybe will we have to wait longer. For now, many lesbians can delight in Heated Rivalry, and pretend it’s two women building sexual tension on the ice instead.

Written by, Charlotte Bevan