Why Xena is not (yet) a lesbian
Bob Alberti
The whole is/isn't argument is overlooking one important point:
Xena isn't real.
Xena is a character, written by a committee of writers, designed to
keep people interested enough to wait through the commercials for
the continuance of the program.
As such, Xena is NOT a lesbian. Why not? Because it's more profitable to
the networks for her to remain heterosexual. More people will watch the
program (and thus the commercials) if she is straight than if she is gay or
bi. Now if a certain level of sexual tension between she and the Redheaded
Goddess Gabby will draw in the Riot Grrrl and Dutch Boy audiences, then
Xena can have a certain bi-curious ambiance. But by no means can the
program risk scaring off the crowd of homophobic submissive-wannabe
teen-to-middle-aged males who watch the program, because they and their
kinks are where the money lies.
Only when the network executives (most of them submissive-wannabe male MBA
graduates terrified of their latent homosexuality) are convinced of
improved demographics will our heroes finally spend the night on the same
side of the campfire. Until that time Xena will live in a frustrated
sexual ambivalence, drawn to Gabby but forced to submit to the attentions
of the occasional beefcake male by writers who are not free to write what
they'd like. But woe to the network executives should Xena ever cross the
line between fantasy and reality: it's not smart to frustrate the Warrior
Princess...
--
Bob Alberti Celebrating 20 Years on the Internet
alb...@freenet.msp.mn.us 1976 UNIVAC... MECC... MERITSS 1996
http://freenet.msp.mn.us/~alberti ALBATROSS*H7LT309
Reunited Adoptee -- Member, Bastard Nation -- Open Records Reform NOW
Lisa or Jeff
I agree with your post.
From what I've read in interviews, Xena's suggestive homosexuality is
intentional by the producers for the reasons you said---it enlarges the
potential audience. Plus, straight guys often get off at some lesbian tension
(I know guys who enjoyed the lesbian kiss scene from "Relativity" last week.)
John A Holbrook
Bob Alberti (alb...@freenet.msp.mn.us) wrote:
: The whole is/isn't argument is overlooking one important point:
: Xena isn't real.
Bob, I understand why you bring up this point, and I agree with some of
what you say. But there's another side to this coin.
Because I am the type of person who likes to kick back, watch a favorite
TV show and rant and rave about the events therein, I do often let my
imagination run wild with it. It's perhaps a little loony, but my real
life (Adolescence, high school, gotta get a scholarship to University,
yadda yadda, stress stress) is stressful enough to leave my brain on
overdrive most of the time.
I'm a fanfic writer and a fanfic reader, and in essence, a fanfic
thinker, in that when I watch a show like Xena I tend to fill in the
details... imagine scenes that aren't there (Ar, you pirates, you just
leave that one be fer now! :) and the like. Maybe it's an edge derived
from acting, where I usually make up a backstory to my character. And as
any actor knows, that is essential to making a character believable.
It's also more fun!
: Xena is a character, written by a committee of writers, designed to
: keep people interested enough to wait through the commercials for
: the continuance of the program.
I don't disagree with you there... I have no illusions about the nature
of showbiz. However, who's to say that Xena's history can ONLY be
written by these writers? So what if someone's fanfic doesn't appear on
TV? It's part of the imaginary world... the fact that Xena isn't real
makes that possible. I may not be making much sense here... perhaps it's
clearer to those who write. As far as I'm concerned, if someone wants to
say that Xena is a lesbian because of a) the actual indications on the
show and b) the backstory they make up themselves (and it can happen
unconsciously if you practise, practise, practise!), that's just fine.
Oh dear. Once again, I have brought it down to subjective opinion... ie
you can think whatever you like. Looks like I haven't said anything new.
Mea culpa!
Alex
"vivamus atque amemus"
Aisa
Elayne Wechsler-Chaput wrote:
>
> [posted and e-mailed]
>
> Lisa or Jeff (hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com) wrote:
> : I agree with your post.
>
> With *whose* post, Lisa and/or Jeff?
Elayne (I'd say, Honey, but don't know if I know you well enough
yet...), just to let you know, "Lisa or Jeff" is the alias ascribed to
the address.. at least according to the last posting I had from them.
The confusion lies in the alias, rather than the attribution of the
quote.
But I agree, in general, a little more care in the citation would help
those of us who seem to get the response before the question ::grin::
BTW.. I haven't said "hi!" yet.. so.. "Hi!"
Aisa
--
***"Sing, Muses, of the moon with long wings from whose divine head
sky-revealed lustre spirals down to earth and great adornment arises
from her gleaming radiance." Homeric Hymn 32***
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Elayne Wechsler-Chaput
[posted and e-mailed]
Lisa or Jeff (hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com) wrote:
: I agree with your post.
With *whose* post, Lisa and/or Jeff?
Just a gentle reminder, folks, to please attribute your posts. Usenet is
not a closed system, and posts don't scroll to everyone's servers in the
same order. Thus it becomes mandatory to attribute (at the very least by
addressing the person by name, but it's usually more helpful if you start
your reply with "so-and-so said" and their snippet of text to which you're
replying), so we all know to whom you're speaking. :)
- Elayne
--
"...there are those who maintain we are mutating away from reproducing. I
am of the mind we will continue copying ourselves. And so we are still
driven to find love, and use that guise to scratch our world away."
- Abigail Stone, from the book "E-mail Bride"