A new op-ed from the Wall Street Journal has argued that bisexual-sexually fluid men has become a favored star for popular shows.
Written by Pamela Paul, the article, titled “Why the Bisexual Man Is Hollywood’s Breakout Star,” essentially argues that the popularity of shows like The White Lotus, Heated Rivalry, and Bridgerton have created a new onscreen heartthrob: a sexually fluid man who swings both ways. These bisexual or “mostly straight” heartthrobs appeal to broad audiences by blending traditional masculinity with openness to same-sex attraction, she argues.
“However it manifests, this sexual fluidity marks something of a ‘Bi Renaissance,’ as Gay Times magazine recently called it,” she writes. “The intimation for audiences is that people who are bisexual are by nature sexual beings, so sexual that they will have sex with anybody. And that’s a new kind of male ideal, at least among a certain cohort.”
Paul ultimately believes that this explosion in bisexual men onscreen offers straight women a fantasy.
“So why all the bi now? It’s possible that bisexuality’s allure offers straight women some kind of fantasy corrective to the manosphere in the same way Sharon Stone’s Sapphic turn in 1992’s Basic Instinct reassured straight men threatened by the women’s movement,” she writes.
While bisexual characters had been presented as villainous in the past, the new trend portrays it as something desirable and sexual. Demographic shifts currently show that more Americans, especially among Gen Z, now identify as bisexual compared to the 1990s.
Writing in Harper’s Bazaar, Louis Staples argued that the show Heated Rivalry had become popular with women as a form of escapist gay porn, similar to how men might watch lesbian porn.
“Put simply, every female fan I spoke to thinks the show is really hot. If you’re surprised by this, it might interest you to know that almost half of gay male porn is actually consumed by women. Sexuality is, of course, varied (and I don’t profess to be an expert), but a friend of mine told me that she likes gay porn because it feels escapist—unlike straight porn, which is mostly made by men and often degrading (or violent) toward women,” he wrote.
“It might sound diminutive to compare Heated Rivalry to porn, but it’s worth noting that the sex between Shane and Ilya seems to satisfy both of them equally. And this might be particularly appealing to women, when depictions of straight sex are so skewed toward one partner’s pleasure,” he added.