What Xena
The Warrior
Princess Did
For The Gay
Community?
94 THEGAYUK | ISSUE 16 | NOV 2015
would she make
such an
impression? I think
it has to do with the
themes of the show,
togetherness,
acceptance,
strength and
community. But
like other fantasy
TV shows with a
strong female lead,
gay men absolutely
love the Warrior
Princess. She is the
very epitome of
things gay men
relate to, the need
for courage, love
and sheer bravery
in a world that is
against them with no need for a man to prove
themselves. Xena made bold choices in characters,
making one of Xena's main nemeses, the flawed and
very much damaged warrior Callisto, almost
sympathetic with a legitimate gripe against Xena,
and her past as a ruthless warlord. But even through
the drama and heartache, one central theme
resonated. Love and sacrifice always won, and even
Callisto was saved by Xena's need for redemption of
CREDIT: Jean Nelson / Depositphotos.com
I
t's been 20 years since it started and 14 since it
ended, but I can still hear the “Aalalalala” of
the Warrior Princess Xena's war cry,
cementing herself into LGBT culture. And with
talk of a reboot/re-imagining in the pipeline,
Xena and her chakram are back in the public
consciousness.
For anyone who has never seen it, Xena
Warrior Princess is a fantastically kitsch, camp and
raucous TV series that made a then 12-year-old me
absolutely enthralled with it. Her sometimes tragic
adventures around the ancient world kept me
watching for 6 seasons and to this day I will still
have a Netflix binge watch of all the seasons. She
was unapologetically strong and unapologetically
female, sexy and powerful, unafraid to get sweaty
and dirty on the job, and all the more beautiful for it.
And despite the few utterly terrible and pointless
future based Xenaverse breaking episodes, I
absolutely loved it. But why would a TV series that
from the outside could potentially be terrible have
such an impact on the gay community?
The relationship between Xena and her
sidekick Gabrielle has always been a constant source
of speculation for the fans, with thousands of
fanfiction stories focussing on it. Even main star
Lucy Lawless (pictured) herself has said that she
believes Xena and Gabrielle had a relationship even
though it's never said outright during the show. But
what about Xena appeals to the gay community, why