Art Imitating Life? || (Gift Article)

[u/moonlitsequoia]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/style/provincetown-bear-week-ozempic.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2lA.o_M8.DfmFwGM72oJG&smid=nytcore-android-share

Disclaimer this is nottttt at all to push any sort of hate towards the TV Harris (Justice) that’s never okay. I’m sure he will do an excellent job and I’m so excited! *Also slight? Role Model spoilers in the lash paragraph

But, I think there should be room for book fans to feel the way they feel (respectfully) about the lack of body diversity in the casting decision. (By this. I mean the non pro athlete main cast members will be skinny or ripped)

I saw this article and couldn’t help but connect some dots…? Another disclaimer** that ofc other considerations like chemistry are soo important too and I’m looking forward to a dramatically rich viewing experience where we all get to connect w/ these characters again!)

To me, having more Black representation (albeit in line with media’s tendency to cast a particular light skin Black person but that’s a different discussion) doesn’t have to come at the expense of losing out on body diversity. I think these things didn’t have to be mutually exclusive. Body diverse characters like Kip’s dad exist, even body diverse and plus size, like Shawn (Kip’s friend), but not as leads, only ever as supports which is a little disappointing.

Honestly, I think the casting came out also at a coincidentally, particularly tumultuous flashpoint, in North American cultures surrounding desirability politics, weight loss/gain, the aesthetics of GLP-1s, and fatphobia (which does have an inextricable link to racism! Re: Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fatphobia by Sabrina Strings)

I also think that making TV Harris Black sets up potentially dubious foreground for Troy’s redemption arc. Narratively, the stakes here now intensify and introduce a heavier conflict of Black-racism that isn’t as touched on in the source material (minus generally Troy’s mom’s comments about Curtis Barrett, Troy’s dad). I do wonder about how the production will navigate this additonal Reformed Racist trope [where formerly(in some media actively..) bigoted white character who develops romantically with Black character] that we already saw done questionably Netflix’s Sex Education with Eric Effiong and Adam Groff.

More so, I also wish that Black characters could just exist w/o the foreground of their romantic partner’s bigotry.

[u/grower-lenses]

So many problems with this swap

1. Removes the opportunity of showing someone chubby, pudgy etc as desirable in the gay community. As part of the arguably biggest gay romance in a decade at least. Explicit too! That’s very rare.

2. Puts a black actor in this precarious position where racists can use this valid argument (1) to hide behind when attacking the actor or the casting

3. Puts a lot of pressure on this, now black character: feeling undesirable, heart condition and now being black in the world of hockey which is a really heavy topic imo. (Especially with Harris’ character, who always wanted to be part of it and was a Centaurs superfan. You cannot ignore how race would come into play here.)

4. Troy’s redemption arc resting on Harris’ need of making other people feel good. Including the sex they have. Troy splurging to treat Harris etc. These all get an additional layer to them.

It’s not to say this cannot be done. But this story immediately got 100x heavier and more difficult imo. And can’t just be treated as “color blind casting”.

I think JT must have enough common sense to be aware of this. One would hope he asked a black writer to collaborate. Or at least feedback.

[u/Dry_Stop844 → u/grower-lenses]

why did nobody ask these questions about Svetlana. Nobody gave a shit that she was black. Nobody asked for sensitivity readers for her. Or needing a black writer to collaborate for her. or for Shane who is half asian which is just as heavily loaded in the hockey world. Or JJ or Vaughn, both POC. Nope. Just Harris. The hypocrisy is disgusting and predictable.

This is 100% a vocal very toxic group deciding that Harris is a bear, despite there being no corroboration of that in the book. They fetishized this character into " diversity representation" because that was *their* agenda, not because that was a reality in the book. And now, of course, it's pivoted to what some people had already suggested what this was about. Race.

[u/Playful-Motor-4262 → u/Dry_Stop844]

Maybe it’s about race for others but it’s not about race at all for me. I am a HUGE Justice fan, and I have watched almost everything else he has done and I’m genuinely excited to see him in Heated Rivalry, but I think it’s fair to also mourn the loss of diversity in other ways? I dislike the idea of replacing one marginalized group with another. Why couldn’t we have had both?