OPEN POST: American Gay History Is Being Made!

Gay history is being made as we speak - or rather, American gay history, which is an important distinction. More on that in a sec. First, as you may know, "Heated Rivalry," a 6-part Canadian series about two closeted gay hockey players, appeared seemingly out of nowhere on North American TV screens this past November. Connor Storrie, a previously unknown, 25 year-old American actor, and Hudson Williams, a little-known Korean-Canadian actor one-year younger, are its stars. To say that audiences swooned is a vast understatement. Almost instantly, the show became a ratings bonanza and a genuine cultural phenomenon. 

So far so interesting, but with just as much immediacy, magazine pictures and videos of Connor began appearing, and it became crystal-clear that his real-life persona was vastly different from the tough, manly-man Russian hunk he played on the series. He was unquestionably gay - even if he declined to answer questions about his orientation - or someone you might regard as just another cutesy, queenie twink were it not for his considerable talent (not for nothing was he snapped up by uber-agency CAA). His talk show appearances solidified his giggly-gay real-life demeanor. And lo and behold, America has so far embraced him.

There are many political and sociological reasons why this has happened, but it has happened - and it's unprecedented. American male actors are rarely out, or if they are, they're older and "straight acting," like Matt Bomer, or they're TV actors who've already scored while being in the closet, such as Jim Parsons and Sean Hayes, or they're irrelevant, like Neil Patrick Harris (I said what I said). British male actors, including Jonathan Bailey and Luke Evans, were accepted by Americans when they publicly came out at fairly young ages, but I'd argue that this is mostly because Americans assume British actors are gay to begin with. It's different with Connor. He's very young, he's American, he's achieved mass-market fame - and he's doing nothing to hide that he's gay. Look, ma, no closet.  

Equally head-turning? Americans are witnessing the emergence of Connor's love life. And while it's true that neither Connor's sexual orientation nor dating life have been "confirmed," the soft-launch of both, so to speak, is everywhere if you're looking. And everyone is. Where Connor goes, so does his "Heated Rivalry" co-star, veteran Canadian actor, Francois Arnaud. To say that these two regularly appear like smitten-kittens in public is putting it mildly. 

Parasocial internet homophobes are trying to ruin the fun by noting the 15-year age difference between the two - even going so far as to label Francois a "pedophile" - but everyone else is thrilled that two seemingly nice people (with megawatt smiles and jaw-dropping pulchritude) are banging. Again, for Americans, this is unprecedented. For younger gay audiences, it's wonderfully normalizing; for older gay audiences, it feels brand new. Because it is. 

Photo Credits: Getty Images