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Hudson Williams and Connor Story in HBO Max’s Hot Rivalry.<\/p>\n
Courtesy: Sabrina Lantas | HBO Max<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
When the holiday season rolled around last year, Margaret Hecox knew exactly what her grandmother would like.<\/p>\n
The 23-year-old wrote in the card about “Heated Rivalry”,<\/a> breakthrough Canadian television series following a secret love story between two male hockey players. Hecox watched several episodes with her grandmother, and encouraged friends and other family members to tune in.<\/p>\n “I knew she was going to love the show,” Hecox said. – Obviously, she did.<\/p>\n The grandmother-granddaughter duo is part of a sizable female fanbase of books, shows and movies centered around love stories between two men.<\/p>\n This type of romantic content – in some Asian cultures has long been called “yay”<\/a> or “boy love”<\/a> \u2014 has been produced for decades. But consumers and experts told CNBC that the buzz surrounding “Heated Rivalry” has pushed the angle LGBTQ+<\/a> The media is further into the mainstream, especially among straight American women.<\/p>\n incl TikTok<\/a>over 900,000 videos have been posted using the hashtag “fujoshi”<\/a> a Japanese slang term for female fans of these stories. Google<\/a>