Xena Warrior Princess Kicks Ass; Reveals Ambiguous Sexuality by Laura Clawson Xena: Warrior Princess went on the air in the fall of 1995, a spin-off of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (which is also a very good show). Xena was first introduced as a villain on Hercules, but during a three-episode arc, he converted her to goodness. Shortly after her conversion, she picked up a slightly inept sidekick, Gabrielle, who has gone on to become an "overachieving sidekick." Every week, the two spend an hour walking through gorgeous New Zealand scenery, hunting down and kicking the asses of assorted villains, helping villagers, and occasionally doing some naked fishing. There are many reasons to watch Xena. The violence is plentiful, well-choreographed, and cartoonish enough to be guilt-free. Who can do anything but enjoy the sight of a leather-clad woman wreaking bloodless carnage among a dozen villains at a time, particularly when one of her trademark moves involves jumping into the air and kicking one man with each leg, sending both men flying a good distance while she herself lands in the same place, pivots, and takes out another one? Then there's comedy. Anachronism is more prevalent in Hercules than Xena, but it is still one of Xena's main sources of humor; an episode that aired last December, for instance, featured a character named Santacles who made toys, including Hercules dolls, for Solstice. The show also often mocks conventional notions of femininity; Xena's feminine gestures are almost always completely ironic. For instance, in a recent episode, a man who she has just thrown through the air onto his ass says "You're good." In response, Xena tosses her hair and smiles, mocking both the man and traditional femininity, before continuing the fight and defeating the man. Moreover, although it is sometimes packaged as a children's show (most adult shows don't have action figures), Xena often contains a fair amount of sexual humor, with liberal references to sadomasochism. For instance, when a man they are helping develops a crush on Xena, she and Gabrielle have the following conversation: G: Another one's fallen for you. X: Again? Why does this always happen? G: Oh, the blue eyes, the leather. Some guys just love leather. X: I think a wardrobe change is in order. G: You could wear chain mail. X: Yeah, but that'd just attract a kinkier group. In another episode, an Amazon woman beats a man to get information from him, saying that she likes pain and what it does to people. When she learns what she needs and leaves him, he protests "hey, I paid for an hour." And speaking of sexual deviance, there's the show's considerable lesbian subtext, which has caused amazing amounts of debate on the web and has made Xena a favorite at many lesbian bars. Everyone can agree that Xena and Gabrielle have a loving friendship which means a great deal to both of them; indeed, many of the show's fans (especially the women) cite this as their favorite thing about the show. Probably because this friendship is such an important part of the show's appeal, the question of whether or not they actually have sex is a deeply contentious one. Postings to the show's Netforum by women who identify as straight indicate that these women want a portrayal of a close friendship between women that cannot be disrupted by men or jealousy; they feel that sexualizing this friendship is saying that, for women, friendship is always secondary to sex. In other Netforum postings, women who identify as lesbians argue that Xena and Gabrielle are in a lesbian relationship and that to deny this is homophobic. Both groups of women, who in fact seem to watch the show for very similar reasons, understandably want to see their own lives reflected on television. What is peculiar about the fierce and sometimes vicious arguments over Xena and Gabrielle's sexuality is that both sides almost always ignore the fact that the ambiguity is intentional. And there, for me, lies part of the show's beauty. No, it's not Ellen; neither Xena nor Lucy Lawless, the actress who plays her, is going to come out (unless Lucy Lawless's engagement to Rob Tapert, the show's executive producer, is a hoax designed to heighten the surprise when she does come out). Then again, Ellen has yet to bathe with another woman onscreen, and Xena and Gabrielle had kissed when it was just a possibility that Ellen was going to come out. It's obvious that the show contains a great deal of lesbian subtext, but in case we were wondering, Xena's producers have promoted it as such. In fact, one of the show's producers, Liz Friedman, is an out lesbian (and a Wesleyan alum). She has given numerous interviews to queer publications such as The Advocate and Curve, saying things like "I don't have any interest in saying they're heterosexuals. That's just bullshit, and no fun either." While she expresses that opinion, she acknowledges that "In terms of what's explicitly presented, Xena and Gabrielle are very close friends who, I do believe, love each other, whether or not there's a degree of sexual intimacy." Friedman is, of course, not ultimately in control of what ends up appearing in Xena; her prominence in promoting the show to its queer fans is dependent on the permission of a studio and of Xena's executive producers, one of whom, Rob Tapert, routinely recognizes the existence of a lesbian audience in interviews, although he won't say anything less ambiguous than that Xena "has had a string of lovers in her life and that now she is trying to get control of her emotions," or "all I can say about that is that Gabrielle satisfies her every whim." Lucy Lawless also frequently refers to her lesbian audience affectionately. Friedman's visibility is, therefore, more a symptom than a cause of the show's queer-friendliness. Still, she's a welcome symptom, as are scenes such as the lesbian vampire rave in last year's Halloween episode. The lovely thing about Xena, though, is that straight people who purely do not want to read Xena and Gabrielle as lesbians don't have to, and often don't. That's probably how the show stays on the air-it's certainly how it got higher ratings than Star Trek: Deep Space Nine last season (various Star Trek shows had been at the top of the syndicated-drama charts since 1987). But, when they're arguing over whether Xena and Gabrielle are in a lesbian relationship, fans rarely acknowledge that the show's producers and writers intend a certain degree of ambiguity. Rather, they seem to feel that there is a single answer which is just a bit obscure and which the producers and writers could, if they chose, reveal. I've dwelt on the queer subtext in and accompanying debate about Xena for quite a while now, partly out of respect for the sexuality theme of this Hermes, and partly because it's probably the most-discussed aspect of the show on the web, where there are dozens of Xena sites. There are many other reasons to watch, though. The fight scenes are, as I mentioned, excellent; the show is funny and much more clever than most network "comedy" shows; and, if you're into deep stuff, Donna Minkowitz observed in Ms. that "Xena's writers have used their hero's evolution as the backdrop for a sophisticated discussion of morality. Xena isn't good becaues of innate virtue. . . In fact, the show's greatest innovation may not be the roughness of its female lead, but her deep awareness of her own desire to exploit and intimidate others." All of these elements are kept in balance with each other, so that no one aspect overwhelms the others for even an entire episode. This makes it possible for the show to maintain an audience that includes some young children, lots of teenagers (especially girls), and adults of both genders and various sexualities.