Today marks 30 years since the premiere of 'Xena: Warrior Princess' back in 1995. A show that was never ashamed of its campiness, but at the same time managed to be groundbreaking on multiple levels. Setting new standards for female action heroines, featuring a main character that was messy and flawed, physically strong and athletic, who started as a villain seeking redemption.
Xena, despite its cheesiness and often ridiculous premise, succeeded in pushing the boundaries of queer representation, challenged stereotypes, defied several of the sexist tropes of '90s media, explored LGBTQIA+ themes, even themes of gender identity, and made a clear statement against the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS at the time.
It may not be a flawless masterpiece, but it's a beloved cult classic for good reason.
π fringemagnet.net/2025/09/30-yeβ¦
#XenaWarriorPrincess #OTD #OnThisDay #Xena #90s #TV #Television #Entertainment #PopCulture #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA
30 Years of Xena: Warrior Princess
Beyond its campiness, Xena was groundbreaking and beyond its time on multiple levels.www.fringemagnet.net
reshared this
Oli
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Annie Hsh πΎπβ
in reply to Oli • • •Yamainu π³οΈβπ
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Hey Gus
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •May Likes Toronto
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Pierot
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Stefan
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Curious Magpie
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •It was a great show - my daughter and I watched together for years.
Favorite line: I guess I always knew but just didnβt dare admit. Yes, Iβm a ... ... thespian!
tlariv
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Floaty Birb
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Annie Hsh πΎπβ
in reply to Floaty Birb • • •@floatybirb I explain it more in the linked blog post. In the episode 'Here She Comes ... Miss Amphipolis' the show features an on-screen kiss between Xena and Miss Artiphys who was played by the late Karen Dior who was HIV-positive and an AIDS activist, and sadly passed away a few years later.
It was done as a deliberate message of solidarity and a statement dispelling the myths on how HIV spreads, especially given the widespread fear and misinformation about AIDS of the 90s, and it was pretty groundbreaking at the time.
Noel Kelly
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •50 years since Space 1999
30 years since Xena
*goes of to google 4 September 2015*
ε
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Annie Hsh πΎπβ
in reply to ε • • •Peruses
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Funny that, Xena definitely ticked some boxes that made me notice that I'm a straight dude with some fetishes, but I always wondered why I never saw the same level of speculation about the sexuality of Hercules, Sorbo always struck me as way prettier than a dude gets for the sake of women. (To bad Sorbo caught the brainworms)
I'm sure the level of heat in the fanfic is similar for both.
Toni Aittoniemi
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •π³πΏ Shayne Parkinson
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Denny
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Another Trump MAGA actor gets caught in a lie related to L.A. protests
Lauren Sforza | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com (nj)EevaXTiina
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Annie Hsh πΎπβ
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •In regards to Xena making a statement against the stigma surrounding HIV: in the episode 'Here She Comes... Miss Amphipolis', Xena enters a beauty pageant undercover. There, she encounters Miss Artiphys, a character played by the late Karen Dior, an HIV-positive actor, singer, former adult performer, and drag queen (reports on Diorβs gender identity are contradictory, and probably also affected by '90s culture).
When Xena discovers that Miss Artiphys was an AMAB character who entered the competition presenting as a woman, the latter explains her actions with the line: "You really donβt get it, do you? I guess being born a woman you wouldnβt. This is a chance to use a part of me most people usually laugh at, or worse. A part I usually have to hide. Only here that part works for me, you see?" expecting Xena to force her to drop.
Instead, Xena encourages her to stay in the competition, never reveals her secret, never disrespects her, and in the end, she ends up being crowned winner. After her victory, Xena and Artiphys share a kiss. That was an intentional statement against the widespread misinformation surrounding AIDS and the transmission of HIV that reportedly Lucy Lawless insisted on being included.
It is near impossible to fully explain how *ridiculously* groundbreaking it was that this entire plot happened in the mid '90s.
#Xena #XenaWarriorPrincess #LGBTQIA #LGBTQ #TransRights #HIV #trans #Gender #TV
reshared this
Oblomov, Dún Piteog, Dún Piteog, scy e las_lallero reshared this.
RocΓo Vega
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Annie Hsh πΎπβ
in reply to RocΓo Vega • • •GabeMoralesVR
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Annie Hsh πΎπβ
in reply to GabeMoralesVR • • •GabeMoralesVR
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Annie Hsh πΎπβ
in reply to GabeMoralesVR • • •GabeMoralesVR
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •To me, Kevin Sorbo's hercules was the epitome of "we have arnold schwartzenegger at home." When you watched Hercules, you felt like you were watching a crappy knock off of better known similar properties (like ignoring that Arnie literally played hercules himself, hercules the show was basically the 1960's batman compared to Conan the Barbarian's Batman 89).
Meanwhile Xena was pretty unlike anything before or even after. You watched just to see new stuff, your OP is a good example
Annie Hsh πΎπβ
in reply to GabeMoralesVR • • •GabeMoralesVR
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Blour Mahpa
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •scy
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •You know what? You convinced me.
*adds Xena to his watchlist*
Mondgesicht
in reply to scy • • •I watched this show as a kid with my mom, loved it. But I didn't get most of the subtext. I was kinda confused by the messaging about the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle. And this episode... My goodness.
Annie Hsh πΎπβ
in reply to Mondgesicht • • •Mondgesicht
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Very similar with Sailor Moon.
Annie Hsh πΎπβ
in reply to Mondgesicht • • •Wonderdog π³οΈβπ
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Joscelyn Transpiring
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Miia Mustang
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •T2R
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Thad
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •I didn't see much of it the first time around (though some of my friends were big fans) but I've been watching it recently and it really is damn good. It's really hard to walk that line of self-awareness without slipping into self parody.
It manages to put one foot in Robert Howard and the other in Curly Howard and actually pull it off.
Annie Hsh πΎπβ
in reply to Thad • • •Adam Jacobs πΊπ¦
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Moriel π³οΈββ§οΈ
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Michael Bishop β
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •TeflonTrout he/him
in reply to Annie Hsh πΎπβ • • •Ah yes, Teen Trout's continuing sexual awakening, furthering the journey that was launched by Vasquez and Ripley from Alien
Seeing Lucy Lawless sans top in the Spartacus series was a keystone moment