Xena: Warrior Princess has been referred to as a pop cultural phenomenon and feminist and lesbian icon. The television series, which employed pop culture references as a frequent humorous device, has itself become a frequent pop culture reference in video games, comics and television shows, and has been frequently parodied and spoofed. Xena: Warrior Princess has been credited by many, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon, with blazing the trail for a new generation of female action heroes such as Buffy, Max of Dark Angel, Sydney Bristow of Alias, and the Bride in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. After serving as Lucy Lawless's stunt double on Xena, stunt woman Zoë E. Bell was recruited to be Uma Thurman's stunt double in Kill Bill. By helping to pave the way for female action heroes in television and film, "Xena" also strengthened the stunt woman profession. Xena and Gabrielle's relationship (see Influence on the lesbian community) has been cited as one of the reasons why the series has been so popular, coupled with the denials of her character's lesbianism from Lawless while the series was running. Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was nicknamed "Warrior Princess" by her staff.
Xena: Warrior Princess in contemporary culture
Literature One of the running jokes in the Animorphs series of books is Marco's continual comparison of Rachel to Xena, referring to her daredevil nature and her lust for battle.
Astronomy In January 2005, the team that discovered the dwarf planet 2003 UB313 nicknamed it "Xena" in honor of the TV character. On October 1 the same year, the team announced that 2003 UB313 had a moon, which they had nicknamed "Gabrielle". The objects were officially named Eris and Dysnomia by the International Astronomical Union on September 13, 2006. Although the official names have legitimate roots in Greek mythology, Dysnomia is also Greek for "lawlessness", perpetuating the link with Lucy Lawless.
Costume donation In 2006, Lucy Lawless donated her personal Xena costume to the Museum of American History. In an interview the same year with Smithsonian, she was asked the question "Was the Warrior Princess outfit comfortable?" and she responded:
Not at first, because they would put boning in the corset. It would cover up those little floating ribs that are so important for breathing, so I'd feel like I was having panic attacks. But it just became a second skin after a while. It was very functional, once I got over the modesty factor. I admit to being a little bit embarrassed the first couple weeks because I'd never worn anything so short.
Fandom and unofficial sequels
Fan fiction The popularity of Xena has led to websites, online discussion forums, works of Xena fan fiction and several unofficial fan-made productions. Members of the Xena fandom have written numerous fanfiction stories of the series. In January 1998, there were a total of 1.598 works of fan fiction going through the network. The fans have popularized the term altfic to refer to fan fiction about loving relationships between women. Many believe that the term slash refers only to relationships between men and does not truly describe the romantic fan fiction about Xena and Gabrielle; they prefer the term altfic. In honor of Gabrielle, Xena fan fiction writers were dubbed bards. A special type of Xena fan fiction is Uber, or Uberfic, a term coined in 1997 by Kym Taborn, creator of fan website Whoosh.org. Uberfic are stories in which Xena, Gabrielle, and other characters appear in different cultures and eras, from prehistory to the distant future, through reincarnation or supernatural means. Stories like these began drawing on the episode set in Macedonia, "The Xena Scrolls", featuring descendants of Xena, Gabrielle and Joxer living in the 1940s. Subsequent episodes had the characters appearing in various incarnations in India and the United States. Once the series ended, several virtual seasons were created by fans and released on the Internet, continuing the plot from the end of the series. These include virtual seasons' subtext. In addition, the series has inspired a variety of fan artwork, ranging from paintings to drawings to computer designs, as well as handmade crafts and cosplay.
Influence on the lesbian community Xena has enjoyed a particular cult status in the lesbian community. Some of the lesbian fan base sees Xena and Gabrielle as a couple and has embraced them as role models and lesbian icons. A group called The Marching Xenas has participated in many gay and lesbian pride parades. A subject of much interest and debate among viewers is the question of whether Xena and Gabrielle are lovers. The issue is left deliberately ambiguous by the writers during most of the show. Jokes, innuendo, and other subtle evidence of a romantic relationship between Xena and Gabrielle is referred to as "lesbian subtext" or simply "subtext" by fans. The issue of the true nature of the Xena/Gabrielle relationship caused intense shipping debates in the fandom, which turned especially impassioned due to spillover from real-life debates about same-sex sexuality and gay rights. Many fans felt that the sexual nature of Xena and Gabrielle's relationship was cemented by an interview given by Lucy Lawless to Lesbian News magazine in 2003. Lawless stated that after the series finale, where Gabrielle revives Xena with a mouth-to-mouth water transfer filmed to look like a full kiss, she had come to believe that Xena and Gabrielle's relationship was "definitely gay...there was always a 'well, she might be or she might not be' but when there was that drip of water passing between their lips in the very final scene, that cemented it for me. Now it wasn't just that Xena was bisexual and kinda liked her gal pal and they kind of fooled around sometimes, it was 'Nope, they're married, man'." The Xena fandom also popularized the term Altfic (from "alternative fiction") to refer to same-sex romantic fan fiction. Many fans felt the term slash fiction carried the connotation of being about male/male couples only and was not a good description for romantic fan fiction about Xena and Gabrielle.
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