I've been fixating on this particular line of Ilya's in TLG, because it truly represents the lengths ilya would go to for someone.
he let his brother bleed him DRY financially, and let his dad use him as a punching bag endlessly, and STILL felt guilty that he couldn't be there for his dad.
they were SUCKING the soul and life out of him. this is how ilya has been conditioned into thinking 'loving' someone means giving up more and more of yourself to make them happy, that is what he was taught, thats what he grew up seeing, and he offered it to shane immediately.
he is an echo of his mother, her life withering away because of his dad, how her lifeline was drained from her, how she gave up everything to stay with him, and have kids when she was SO young. she tried her best to keep things together, for her son, for her family, but lost herself in the process.
there he tells shane that he would gladly give up more, RIGHT after their argument about sacrifices, and shane's response to that is so important and is what separates him from the other ppl in Ilya's life.
This tweet got me thinking about Shane connecting with Canadian Queer history and learning about the Toronto bathhouse raids. Such an impactful moment in our history that he can connect directly to him and Ilya in the showers, scared of getting caught but full of want and that desire for more than he will allow himself in that moment - more than he thinks he is allowed to have.
The bathhouse raids were followed up by protests and rallies which became Pride Marches we know today. I wonder how he would process that. I wonder if he would recognize how his own life so closely mimics our shared history despite all the differences. Starting w/ cruising in the showers, covert ways of speaking and arranging meetups, finding the love of your life and having to hide it due to fear of losing it all, and being forcibly outed and instead of retreating to the darkness, resisting the oppressive system and refusing to back down from your truth. Continuing to live life regardless of (and sometimes in spite of) what those in power do to try to take away your agency.
I think that Shane would feel a deep sense of connection to the bathhouse raids, and even possibly this broader shared history regardless of if he sees how his story mimics our history in a way.
TL;DR - real people can't queerbait, this irl queerbaiting rhetoric does nothing but push men to perform a new kind of 'acceptable' masculinity, white fans need to examine how their whiteness and privilege affects how they interact with fandom, and stop being so parasocial for the love of GOD.
As a gender studies student I've had a lot of feelings about this discourse. I'm sure none of this is new information, but I felt the need to susinctly write out my thoughts on this. One thing that particularly bothers me about this whole queerbaiting discourse is the fact that this vitriolic rhetoric it is coming from supposed fans of heated rivalry - a show that explicitly explores the repressed sexuality of men within a hyper-masculine sport in a hetero-patriarchal society. I have 2 main issues I want to touch on.
First of all, a real human being cannot queerbait! Queerbaiting is a tactic used by companies and folks looking to profit off of queer people without actually taking the step to include queer characters. Saying a real person is queerbaiting implies that their sexuality is like that of a fictional characters': is pre-determined, strict, fixed, lacking nuance, and profit tool. To say that the behaviours and experiences of a real human being are actually profit-seeking tools is insulting and irreverent, not to mention fucking stupid! No one is entitled to any aspects of someone's identity, and identities change!! how is someone able to queerbait when sexuality is such a nuanced and personal part of the human experience?
Secondly, Shane and Ilya's pain is a fictionalization of the experiences of closeted queer people - specifically gay men - in these spaces. Fans of the show understand that that we should work to create lasting change so that people don't feel they have to hide their true self out of fear or shame or for safety. If this is true, then why the fuck are we acting in ways that enable repression? We cannot shout about toxic masculinity and in the next breath chastise men who do not conform to some narrow definition of what it means to subvert toxic masculinity *acceptably*. By labelling someone a "queerbaiter" for acting a certain way - for being comfortable with their own masculinity in ways that do not fit into some perfectly constructed box of what it means to be a "good" man - we push men to conform to societal expeciations of acceptable masculinity in yet another way.
We also can't ignore the racism present in this discourse.
Simple explanation of context: because of the white supremacy baked into our society, people of colour under more scrutiny and are forced to perform at a level beyond the expectations of the dominant group - they must be exceptional in order to be accepted alongside the mediocrity of white peers. This means creating exceptionally, behaving exceptionally, acting exceptionally, etc. To stray from this 'exceptionalism' risks being cast aside for a more someone 'palatable'. Pushed aside to make way for someone who will either uphold the status quo while remaining a sign of progress for representation and inclusion, or make way for a white person who will push back against the status quo in 'acceptable' ways.
Hudson, a young Asian artist, has been quickly thrown into fame and is now getting picked apart for being unafraid of platonic affection, for having a private life, for refusing to hide his beliefs for optics sake and for speaking his truth. If any other actors were doing this they'd be praised. Hell, we see white actors and influencers praised constantly for this type of authenticity!
White fans in this space need to examine their privilege, how their whiteness impacts their understanding of media and how they form their opinions and work to dismantle the white supremacist logic they may not even realize is there.
It's disheartening to see this shit continue in the big 2026, especially in a fandom built on a story that stands for the exact opposite of what this rhetoric pushes.
I'm not going to engage with this discourse on socials because I do not want to contribute to its growth beyond sharing these thoughts. That is not to say I think it is not important to bring light to, I just don't think me engaging with every single opinion on this is necessarily helpful for anyone.
• Quick dive into the use of colour and it's symbolism in the show
• 2 collages at the end
• 16 pg. quarter zine
• Available as a digital PDF, printable PDF, or I can mail to you!
I hope you enjoy! Available through my linktree (pinned on my blog)
If you read the zine let me know what you think ⋆｡°✩
something i haven’t seen anyone mention yet is shane ‘autism’ hollander keeps hiring people to help him be normal
oh hollander you have too many pillows and his heart probably drops because what do you MEAN that’s too many, ilya, i hired someone who knows The Rules Of House Appearance and they approved this. this is Rules Approved
oh you look flashy at the bar in tampa and ilya laughs at him for getting a stylist and excuse ME, ilya, but this outfit is Rules Approved by someone who knows The Rules Of Outfit Appearance, Personally. is Rules Okayed. it’s a Good Outfit™️
love that ilya is actually kinda confused when he meets shane for the first time but then as soon as shane goes for the SECOND handshake in a 2 minutes interaction his whole body language changes and hes like oh. OH hes flirting with me,, and he was !! ! (sighs) shane hollander youre so cute and lovable. ilya didnt stand a chance
i cant believe i said 2 minutes on my og post thinking i was exaggerating how short the interaction was just for it to actually be less ! !! !!! (46 seconds between handshakes, shane hollander youre a slut)
Oh. Ilya isn’t being nice to all the gay hockey players he meets by tripping them into the arms of their love interests because he wants them to be happy. He’s tripping them away from his love interest. He’s gonna make sure those hot rich men are otherwise occupied so they don’t go sniffing around Mr. Hockey himself, Shane Hollander, who they may or may not have heard a rumor about him being gay and probably available— Quick! Diversion attack! Go flirt with the cute social media guy! Look! Attractive bartender! Sexy musician, go go go!
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