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steaming up

Lather, rinse, rewind: 6 homoerotic shower scenes from film and TV

By Editors March 28, 2023 at 9:00am · Updated on January 26, 2024
In a gym shower, one shirtless man and another in a trash-collector uniform stare intensely into on another's eyes.
Image Credit: ‘O Fantasma’ The Criterion Channel

Recently, we were bummed to learn about ’90s erotic thriller Wild Things‘ gay shower scene that could have been.

In an interview for the cult classic’s 25th anniversary, director John McNaughton revealed the script originally intended for Kevin Bacon and Matt Dillon’s characters to be partners, and they were going to consummate their love in a sexy shower moment. However, a certain actor (*cough* Matt Dillon *cough*) wasn’t game.

But you won’t see us crying over dropped soap because, the truth is, cinema has a rich tradition of homoerotic—and outright gay—shower scenes that have kept our mirrors plenty fogged up, if you know what we mean.

Click through our list of movies and TV shows with some of the steamiest gay shower moments in memory. Plus, we’ve included info on where you can watch them, so you’ll know where to look next time you need a nice, hot rinse.

Center Of My World

Based on a German young adult novel of the same name, this dysfunctional family drama cedes plenty of screen time to romance, with young protagonist Phil (Dark‘s Louis Hofmann) falling for the mysterious—and beautiful—new guy at school, Nicholas (Barbara‘s Jannik Schümann). As their relationship intensifies, Center of My World doesn’t shy away from intimacy, especially in a notable shower scene where they throw all their cares away and get handsy.

Streaming on Dekkoo and Kanopy. Available for rental on Amazon Prime Video.

Cold Showers

Image Credit: “Cold Showers,” Picture This! Entertainment

You’re not going to believe this one, but the French film Cold Showers? Yeah, it’s got some pretty hot shower scenes. Working class Mickael (Johan Libéreau) begins a competitive friendship with his well-off judo teammate Clément (Pierre Perrier), and before too long, the guys are sharing everything—even Mickael’s girlfriend! Each of their post-practice shower scenes are loaded with tension, and the film doesn’t hold back when it comes to baring it all.

Unfortunately, Cold Showers is not officially streaming at the moment, but can be purchased through Amazon.

Euphoria

Image Credit: “Euphoria,’ HBO

This buzzy HBO drama has never been one to hold back, but we were still surprised by the season two episode, “Ruminations: Big and Little Bullys,” which flashed back to the teenaged years of problematic patriarch Cal Jacobs, here portrayed by the dreamy Elias Kacavas. He’s shown to have a very close relationship with wrestling buddy Derek (Henry Eikenberry), as the two star at each other, long and hard, both in the locker room and the gym showers.

Streaming exclusively via HBO Max.

O Fantasma

In this lurid erotic thriller from Portugal, a handsome trash collector named Sérgio (Ricardo Meneses) roams the streets of Lisbon on the night shift (it’s a gross job, but someone’s got to do it). He seems unfazed by pretty much everything—that is, until he encounters a sexy, cocky motorcycle rider who wants nothing to do with him. The scene where Sérgio leers at him while in the gym shower is burned in our memories, but that’s just the beginning of the young man’s dark, depraved journey.

Streaming on Tubi.

School Ties

Unlike the other entries on this list, School Ties‘ big shower scene isn’t intentionally homoerotic, but gays of a certain age will surely remember the (literally) steamy fight between Matt Damon and Brendan Fraser in this prep school drama. Along with Chris O’Donnell, the actors flash plenty of cheek as they duke it out after Fraser’s character is “outed” as Jewish. We’re not ones to condone physical violence of any kind, but we do support naked shower wrestling.

Streaming via Paramount+ and Fubo TV. Available to rent through AppleTV, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and YouTube TV.

The Swimmer

Like any good sports drama worth its salt, The Swimmer offers up plenty of locker room scenes—as it should! That’s where athletes spend a good chunk of their time, after all. But that also makes things complicated for Erez (Omer Perelman Striks), a talented swimmer preparing for the Olympics, who happens to be harboring feelings for his training buddy Nevo (Asaf Jonas). Each time they hit the showers, he can’t help but get a little side-tracked—and, look, we get it.

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8 Comments*

  • ddmtl

    “but gays of a certain age”..REALLY? Please clarify

    • alandraper

      I think it means gays who were alive in 1992.

    • frodojrr

      Yes, those of us from the early 90s. That’s all.

  • Kangol2

    No Elite? No Criminal Lovers? No Any Given Sunday? No Grande École? No Drink Me? No Free Fall? There are tons of other films and TV shows with homoerotic shower scenes!

    • MANSUMM

      Or The Inspection

  • Diplomat

    My god matt damon had the most attackable ass.

  • wiggie

    School Ties was the movie that made me fall in lust with Anthony Rapp

  • Jim

    OMG. You didn’t include the shower scene in “Midnight Express”.
    Is the author uninformed or just young and. . . .

Comments are closed.

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