tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1948992453323836867.post4844452380878191935..comments2015-05-15T14:18:51.904-07:00Comments on TV THEORY: Core Response #4: Kiss the Girl! Audience Activism and Xena: Warrior PrincessTara McPhersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09874394027026185133noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1948992453323836867.post-13951312362889269872015-03-03T16:58:02.407-08:002015-03-03T16:58:02.407-08:00JJ, you read my mind! After the Jenkins reading ta...JJ, you read my mind! After the Jenkins reading talking about women trying to create a space for themselves in the male-dominated Star Trek storylines, I also thought about Xena, so I wrote to an acquaintance who was a producer on the series, Steve Sears. He's someone who's remained very active with the fanbase, both online and in forums, so I asked him if he had any interesting stories about fandom. Here's what he said.<br /><br />"Xena was a series that tackled many issues. Granted, within an action fantasy format, but we managed to make a lot of social statements in the process. One that the series is constantly credited with is the empowerment of women. Obviously, we had two female leads and we didn’t allow ourselves to tone them down for any particular audience. We wrote them as real characters. As a result, I received many comments and thank-yous from women who were able to get out of abusive relationships and others who were living lies, trying to pretend they were someone they weren’t. I can’t tell you how many fans have come up to me an introduced me to their partners, wives and husbands, saying they found each other because they had a common interest in the series. And this goes for all sexual orientations. It’s no secret we have a large lesbian fan base and many of them found validation and strength in our characters. Now, honestly, I like to believe they ALL had the strength inside themselves all along. But if we had anything in the slightest manner with nudging that strength in the right direction, then I feel very proud and humbled."<br /><br />Sears also had a funny story about the way the show is interpreted. "I got an e-mail from a fan blasting me for writing about lesbians. It was obvious, the author said, that the characters were gay and we were trying to push our agenda on the public. If I wasn’t gay, she said, I was obviously “pro-queer”. Within five minutes, I got another e-mail from someone else. This person called me a homophobe for not outing the characters. It was obvious they are gay, he said, but just as obvious that I don’t like gays because I refused to allow them to show their real relationship. So in five minutes, I was accused of being “pro-queer” by one basher, and homophobic by another. My solution? I forwarded each e-mail to the other person with a note that read “Perhaps you two should switch TV sets.” I never heard back from either of them."Helenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08789625276275807263noreply@blogger.com