Hi friend,

Happy New Year! I hope 2026 is treating you well. However, you would be in great company if it’s not lol. Clearly January has somewhere to be and I am feeling quite disoriented, if I do say so myself. Aside from the constant overwhelm and collective grief I’ve been processing as a result of the continued decline of the U.S., I’ve also been navigating my physical limitations (chronic migraines) and purging old wounds. Needless to say, this year is not feeling very new. I shouldn’t be that surprised because it is still the year of the Snake and Saturn is still in Pisces until February but ya girl was optimistic. If you’ve been feeling frustrated, behind, or disoriented, you’re not alone. It’s all part of the process to prepare us for the new energies that are on their way.

Okay, time to talk about the fun stuff. If you haven’t watched Heated Rivalry yet, I imploreee you to watch it. I don’t think any show has turned me into a Jehovah’s Witness quite as quickly as Heated Rivalry. The unapologetically queer hockey romance that could has truly taken the world by storm. If you’ve watched the show, the reasons why are very apparent. In contrast to other recent representations of love in Western media like Love Island and The Materialists (which you can read my thoughts on here), Heated Rivalry captures what people have been yearning for for a long time: authentic, vulnerable, and passionate love. The show is a masterclass in tension, longing, high stakes, subtly and so much more. Every aspect of the show from the writing, cinematography, music, set design and acting come together to create a deeply emotionally impactful experience. The discourse about the show and the meteoric rise to stardom of the cast has been really interesting to witness. Much of the dialogue with mainstream outlets has highlighted the shock around the show’s resonance with audiences beyond queer men, especially women. There’s also a lot of focus on the sex scenes in the show for obvious reasons but it does come across as flattening the impact of the show to the steamy moments. These focal points in conversation expose two things from my perspective.

For starters, I think we are deeply conditioned to believe that it is impossible for people to relate to stories about marginalized communities especially if we are not members of that group. I’ve seen so many articles and videos trying to unpack the massive success of the show and overall I think there’s valid points to those analyses. However from a wider lens, the show defies the status quo in terms of how U.S. production companies approach audience and storytelling. Typically shows are green lit based on facts and figures about demographics and profitability to try to minimize the risk that comes with creating any production. The result is a bunch of remakes based on familiar IPs and stories using the same tropes and plot lines that on paper should be palatable to “most people.” In reality, a successful storyteller is always aiming to create stories that are unique and universal. A story that is authentic and honest to the experience of an individual or group will inevitably resonate with a broad group of people at the end of day because we’re all human.

Yes, the nuances of what impacts our lived experiences can be incredibly different but we’re ultimately more similar than we are different. Not everyone will have the same lived experience of being deeply impacted by patriarchy and the performance of masculinity to the point that they are unable to show up authentically in their lives and love who they love but there are ways that all of us and our love lives are deeply impacted by systemic oppression. Stories can and should be a way for us to connect and empathize with each other, However, in the U.S. they are mainly used as a tool of manipulation and propaganda. If we don’t realize what we have in common with people with a different lived experience, it becomes easier to justify dehumanizing them and that directly benefits systemic oppression. While I’m here, I just want to make clear that just because you resonate with a story about someone from a different background, does not mean that you get to marginalize the real life members of those groups within the fandom or fetishize them. Heated Rivalry is about queer men navigating love in a homophobic sport and queer men should be centered and listened to as much as possible in any discussion or celebration of the book or show. Just wanted to say that because some people are getting weird.

Secondly, I think the discomfort with sexual aspects of the show is reflective of the influence of puritanical and conservative values in American culture especially in how we relate to sex. Sex is a normal part of healthy, romantic relationships but Western culture implicitly and explicitly shames us for enjoying or exploring sex in any way that does not directly contribute to the procreation of workers to support the capitalist aspirations of billionaires. Meanwhile these same billionaires are allegedly participating in abhorrent and perverted abuses of power in the shadows, creating complicated criminal enterprises to sexually abuse children and adults (cough cough Epstein files). It’s honestly absurd to me how backwards our society is when it comes to conversations around sex, power, and consent. Ultimately, the cast and crew, particularly the intimacy coordinator, did an amazing job of showcasing what consensual, intentional, and exciting intimacy scenes can look like on screen and how they can serve the story while making sure that everyone feels safe and comfortable. I hope that more production studios moving forward take note and people are able to reflect on what their reaction to the intimacy scenes reflects about their own relationship with sex and intimacy.

As I’ve mentioned in previous newsletters, we need to create and celebrate the stories that help shift the culture before policy can shift and Heated Rivalry is another show that does just that. The fact that the show is a Canadian production also points to the fact that the renaissance we’re witnessing and will continue to witness, is global in nature. I would imagine this can be attributed, in large part, to the internet and how much more connected we are across the globe in comparison to previous renaissance periods like the Harlem Renaissance. With that being said, I hope you follow whatever spark of inspiration you received from watching Heated Rivalry and are bold in your commitment to yourself and the world that you want to create because your magic and wisdom are needed now more than ever. I’ll see you in the cottage.

Thanks for reading! I’m pushing back the launch of Reclamation Studio until late February but you can learn more about the program and donate here in the meantime: joinreclamationstudio.com. Feel free to reach out with any questions!

With gratitude,

Paula