Don't Try to Deny It: Doubles Luge Looks Like Gay Sex

"The sport looks like what would happen if two countrymen were caught in flagrante spandex-clad delicto and thrown down an ice chute. To begin their run, one athlete lays on the base of the sled and the other climbs on top, both facing up, essentially ass-to-groin. A PG-rated synopsis would say the teammates look like they're spooning. An R-rated version would call it something else."

"The lugers then push the sled back and forth in an unmistakable thrusting motion before sending themselves down the course. Much bumping and jostling ensues as they slip and slide to the finish line, where they sit up, one straddling the other from behind, and celebrate the fun they just had. It's an objectively bizarre idea for a sport. And because the teammates are paired off by gender, it is also dripping with gay vibes."

"For a prime example, look no further than two-time gold medalists Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt of Germany, a duo affectionately known by luge freaks as "the two Tobis." (As someone whose queer friend group includes a married couple known as "the Sarahs," I can confirm that "the two Tobis" is a deeply homosexual concept.) The men are reportedly heterosexual in their non-luge lives, but once they snuggle up on the sled, their lives-and limbs-are intimately intertwined."

Summer Olympic events generally project more conventional sex appeal through sports like volleyball and swimming, while many Winter events present less obvious sensuality. Doubles luge appears explicitly sexual: teammates lie one atop the other, facing up in an ass-to-groin configuration, push the sled in thrusting motions, and jostle down the ice, often ending with one athlete straddling the other. The event's gender-paired teams amplify gay-coded perceptions. Two-time champions Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt embody these vibes as the two Tobis. The athletes are reportedly heterosexual off the sled, yet their on-sled proximity makes their bodies and limbs intimately intertwined.

Read at Slate Magazine