Xena for (Gay) Boys

Take one warrior princess, one blond sidekick, one round flying thing and a lot of shirtless guys wielding swords, and what do you have?

A gay icon, of course.

Consider the recent 12th Annual Xena Convention in Burbank, Calif. While it's true that if a bomb had been dropped on the convention hall the lesbian population of the United States would have fallen by half, there were more than a few gay fanboys in the crowd, too. And some of them could easily give their queer sisters a run for the money in the Xena adoration stakes.

So, what's at the heart of Xena's appeal to gay men? “Well, first, I have this thing for women who kick major butt,” answered Los Angeles-based actor and Xena fan Travis Terry. “But there's something more to it than that. Time after time during the convention, fans would talk about how, through the bravery and courage of the characters on-screen, they were able to find bravery and courage in their own lives. Xena did for her audience what I hope to do with my art. Teach, heal and effect change in some way.”

Put that way, of course, what's not to love? And that's just what a lot of gay men do. AfterElton.com columnist Brent Hartinger said, “Oh, God, I loved that show! Just every single minute. From the first time I saw it, I loved everything about it.”

The origins of that love are fairly simple, rooted in a story as old as, well, ancient Greece itself. Christopher Henry, a 20-year-old actor attending his first Xena convention, who started watching the show when he was only 8, said, “For a lonely childhood in an unaccepting town, Xena provided a great outlet. … Women for a long, long time have been viewed as almost helpless, defenseless … the underdog. Then you have the underdog rise not just to become a champion, but the supreme champion in this world that she lives in. … It's almost like vicariously living through the character; you borrow from that sense of power and that sense of confidence, and it helps empower you.”

Standing up for the downtrodden isn't the only reason the warrior princess won gay male hearts. First, there's the boots, the whip and the leather outfit. Series regular Ares, God of War, played by the late Kevin Smith, didn't hurt, either. Said Hartinger, “In the case of Xena, the show, I think the appeal to gay men is pretty obvious. The show was completely, wonderfully over-the-top. And not just with the wild humor and the musical numbers and all that. It's over-the-top the other direction too, with its oh-so-serious themes of love and death and light and dark. Everything is amped up in a world that's larger than life. If there was ever a television show that was just one long Broadway musical, Xena is it. Which is why I loved every fricking minute.”

Terry saw it the same way: “I sit and talk about great film art and great television, and there is sometimes this sense of snobbery with me. Granted, I love Xena, although I honestly don't consider it great art. But you know what? Xena really uplifted and touched her audience. She did it with a sword, a leather breastplate, a beautiful blond partner with abs of death, and a jokester named Joxer. She did it with broad comedy, broad drama, an unbelievable timeline that made no sense in most circumstances, and lots and lots of heart and pluck.”

Xena: Warrior Princess was full of gay innuendo and nudge-nudge-wink-wink subtextual suggestions of a lesbian relationship between hero and sidekick. Everyone, from co-executive producer and out lesbian Liz Friedman to Lawless herself, have acknowledged it. When Friedman was onstage at the convention, she said, “I was always there like gum on people's shoe. … ‘No, no one's going to think they're lesbians; shut up, it's fine.' They fell for it.”

Beyond the lesbian subtext, episodes were peppered with gay slang and references — or, in the case of “Here She Comes … Miss Amphipolis,” one long gay in-joke. Hoping to avert a war, Xena goes undercover at the Miss Known World Pageant, at which pretty much everything that can possibly happen backstage at a beauty pageant happens — except that the ultimate winner of the competition is a man. A really gorgeous man, played by the late Karen Dior.

The actresses who portrayed Xena and Gabrielle, Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor, have always welcomed their gay fan base, and that may be one reason behind the show's status in the gay community. Lawless, who is currently testing the waters of a musical career after a star turn on the cheesy but fun Celebrity Duets, recently released a dance mix CD single with RuPaul and performed two sold-out shows at Los Angeles' Roxy Theater for a mostly gay audience.

Hartinger admires the actors and their relationship with their gay fans, and attributes a lot of their success to that relationship. “Look how great being true to herself has worked out for Lucy — and it is clearly her own nature, her free spiritedness, that we're all sensing,” he said. “She's bigger than ever on Battlestar Galactica and on Celebrity Duets. She is genuine; she's totally sexy and fun. And who she is, is exactly where society is going, especially among young people. She was totally ahead of the curve, being so inclusive and open.”

At the convention, Lawless told the crowd that Xena was voted the second most-loved lesbian icon in the world, and asked, “Would you like to meet number one?” The audience screamed and applauded, and O'Connor joined her co-star on the stage. But they don't owe that status solely to their lesbian fans. After the convention appearance, O'Connor laughed and said, “Yeah, when I was voted … what was it, number one lesbian of the year …”

Lawless broke in, also laughing, “Yeah, yeah, you're lesbian icon number one.”

O'Connor said, “That's it. And when I posted a thank you to ‘the girls,' a lot of guys posted, ‘Wait a minute, we voted for you, too!'”

Henry admits he feels a little bad about Xena's iconic status among gay men, and said with a laugh, “Gay men have our own icons … we iconize everybody. Let's leave the lesbians something. I mean, they have Gina Gershon and they have Lucy Lawless. Let them have it.”