Many thanks to Petra de Jong for the following transcribed and Translated article. DeTelegraaf Saturday April 4 Translated from Dutch. Notes from me between () Title: Xena, heroine for strong women by Marjolein Hurkmans Nieuwegein - Petra de Jong is 23. She's working as a scientific designer and is a student of Cartography. All very serious, yet Petra is also a passionate fan of a kid's show. She collects almost everything about the 'historical' heroine Xena. A couple of weeks ago she even started a fan club for the leather clad warrior princess. She lives in a small room in an apartment building for the youth. All her furniture, including her bed is filled with posters, magazines and newspaper articles. On most of them there's a big picture of Lucy Lawless, the leadactress of 'Xena'. Yet here and there there's still a Star Trek photo visible. "Well, I'm still redecorating" she says smiling, "I used to be a Trekkie but Dr Spock and crew had to make way for Xena. I'll have to change all the posters now. " What in the world draws a young, yet adult woman to a kids show? She frowns, "It's not a kids show. Veronica airs the show early in the evening (6pm). That's why many kids watch it but the show is really meant for adults. I would like to advise people not to let young children watch the show when we're in third season here in the Netherlands. At the moment (2nd season) the stories are quite innocent but the themes are going to be very dark; in example crucifixions and rape. Not really suitable for kids below 12." "What draws me to 'Xena' is the fact that this finally is an action show with two strong women in the lead. Lots of Xena fans used to be Cagney and Lacey fans. It (Xena) follows naturally from that. Neither Xena nor her friend is defined by a man. Now that's girl power." The series once started as a spin-off to a similar show with the hero 'Hercules' in the lead. "Xena was his enemy and finally, in the last episode, he 'reformed ' her. Her character was so popular with the viewers that they made a new tv show around her. In the show Xena tries to amend for her past evil deeds." "That's what makes her 3-dimensional to me. So it's no surprise that Xena's become more popular then Hercules. The male hero is a goody two shoes, Xena still has this dark side to her. She's more human and she's always fighting the dark side of her personality." "To me she's an example", continues the enthusiastic fan. "She's the confirmation of something I've known all along; that women can do anything a man can. We're more than a match for the 'stronger' gender." "Next to my job and Xena I still have a private life you know", she says. "I also have 'normal' friends. But more and more being fan of Xena and having friendships get interwoven. Xena's really an 'internet' show. It's the first show that has many sites on the internet (That's not what I said, I meant the fact that it's the first 'Internet cult')...you can even e-mail the makers of the show. By logging on regularly I've met lots of new and likeminded people. A little while ago I stayed with American fans in New York." "There the show even has an extra dimension. In Holland no one gets excited about homosexuality anymore, but there the lesbian subtext in Xena is a constant source of discussion. It's really funny to see that." "Who are the fans of Xena? Feminists and lesbians (never said that). And of course men who love leather clad women carrying a whip. It seems actress Lucy Lawless gets letters from lawyers who'd like to get spanked by her" "But even though I'm both a feminist and bi-sexual, it's not just that what draws me to Xena. To me she's a character with whom I can identify. Finally a woman who's not waiting in her kitchen for her man to get back from work. " 2 pictures (both black and white): One of Lucy, in her Burbank outfit (that blue one), holding a sword. Caption: Lucy Lawless, the actress that plays Xena. The show is the first series that has many internet sites. One of me, surrounded by Xena mags. Caption: Petra de Jong between her Xena articles: "Finally a woman who's not waiting in her kitchen for her man to get back from work" Petra ---