Xena's Feminine Mystique
by Marion Williams
Zadok Perspectives Issue No. 63
Autumn 1999

Introduction

Marion Williams
Marion Williams is a counsellor specialising in sexuality and gender, and director of Women's Ministries at Exodus, South Melbourne. She wishes to thank Xena-fan, Dr. Louise MacIntosh, for her kind input into this article. e-mail: Maz_Williams@iname.com

Only in the '90s could the star of a children's fantasy drama be invited to two successive Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. The star was Xena, the mythical Warrior Princess, with whom most of the television viewing world has become acquainted.

THE MYSTICAL SPHERE OF the "Xenaverse" has imbedded itself in the psyche of nearly 60 per cent of Australia's children, not to mention those of the youth of Afghanistan, Russia and Iran. In America, Xena: Warrior Princess has become the highest rating syndicated drama on television. The internet also has more than 100 Xena sites with content ranging from lesbian fantasy to pseudo-intellectual critique (http://whoosh.org).

In real time, people are attending conferences, clubbing at venues with Xena theme nights, receiving newsletters and purchasing a giddy array of paraphernalia. At Sydney's 1998 Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, 122 Xena look-a-likes marched up Oxford Street to the delight of the crowds. What's more, American universities offer Xena 101.

Even a cursory observer must ask what is this fascination with Xena all about?

To: Creating the Xenaverse