Many thanks to Petra for the following...
In the letter column (letter from a reader):
Xenaphiles corner
Shame on Renee O'Connor! Her remarks concerning the lesbian subtext in
Xena: Warrior Princess (Diva, August) imply that it was just a 'silly' bit
of fun that can be dispensed with now that the show has achieved
'mainstream' success. It's the relationship, implied or otherwise, between
Gabrielle and Xena that has created its success in the first place. All of
the fans, whether gay or straight, are intrigued by the love between the
two women. There is nothing like it on television anywhere. The writers
try to bow to middle America by introducing girl-meets-boy subplots on
occassion, but the chemistry between Xena and Gabrielle feels so strong
and right that Gab'd love for the various male characters always appears
forced, unbelievable and slightly 'silly'. Rumours are rife that we're
going to see Xena marry Hercules in a future episode. Are they mad?! Has
success totally twisted their judgment? Xenites unite! Pick up your swords
and chakrams and run, screaming, for your pens and websites, and tell
those idiots at Renaissance Pictures that we, the 'mainstream', are not
amused.
In deep consternation,
L. Lipton
A mention in an article on a short film series on C4: "The Xenaphiles (15
Aug), is the least successful film, with a lot of repetition shots of
people in more or less accurate Xena costumes on the San Francisco gay
pride parade. There's nothing really new in it, but our Caz does convince
a lot of people to have a go at Xena's war cry, which is entertaining if a
little painful."
A Xena mention in the Lara Croft (Tomrbraider) article:
"So, just because Lara was created to titillate straight lads does not
mean that we cannot claim her as a lesbian avenger. After all, we managed
it just fine with Xena: Warrior Princess. Xena and Lara share many traits,
including sexual ambiguity. However, while Lara lacks Xena's deliciously
nudge-nudge relationship with her female side-kick Gabrielle, at least she
doesn't have to put up with a token heterosexual love interest being
wheeled on at regular intervals, the way our fighting princess and her
friend do."
Return to In The News