#ephiny

Xena Warrior Princess  ⚔️  One gifset per episode

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"EVER ETERNAL" Series TWIN SOUL SCROLLS I: AN ANCIENT AFFAIR Ch.91 | THE GEEKY BARD'S CAMPFIRE TALES

There’s been many depictions and representations throughout TV art/entertainment of The Amazons - a whole nation of tribes of women that go to war for no other reason seemingly but the glory of battle - but nobody has ever done it better than the Xena creators because they really got down to the core of who these women are and what they truly stand for. It isn’t war.

It’s feminism. It’s all for the right and agency to be a strong woman in a world that doesn’t recognize that.

TERREIS: “It is a man’s world, Gabrielle. Not because it should be, but, because we let them have it. It’s based on a woman’s weakness. The Amazon world is based on truth and a woman’s individual strength.”

GABRIELLE: “Well, I’m all for that.”

And sadly, even to this day, we still do have to battle for that cause. The cause that makes us equal to men. So we go to war because that’s what a man respects. It may be senseless, but it works. And if it works…

Observing the sisterhood of the Amazon Nation in Xena leaves you with a feeling of euphoria that your own strength and power as a woman is not wasted because there are so many others just like you that are striving for that forward moving change of inclusivity and equality. That’s what The Amazons represent.

And you can tell me whether you think that’s worth watching or not. For me it’s one of the strongest and most substantial reasons to watch and to continue to watch Xena. To value what I’m sure is a “dated” show to most but will always be a timeless experience for me because these themes and these messages are still relevant. And they will unfortunately always be relevant because there will always be constant fight and so long as there is constant fight - there is value.

Xena isn’t “dated”. It isn’t “old”. In fact we’re still catching up to everything it contains within it. Not least of which is the representation of The Amazons and that understanding of what true feminism is instead of the awful inaccurate connotations it has of hating men or wanting to be superior to men - of which is just bullshit and only hindering the cause.

We go to war with men because we have to. Because they won’t recognize us any other way than through it.

Men recognize warriors. So women become warriors.

In ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ there is no compromise with war. There’s no leeway. No easy way out. There are consequences and everyone feels them. Men and women alike. It’s not your typical experience of what you watch in a TV show about these things. About war and violence. That’s why I love it so, so, so much. Because it’s not afraid to be brutally honest about it even when it’s technically a family show and a coming-of-age story targeted towards adolescents. But you’ve got to learn these things young to have all the time you need to become a force for the greater good too.

And I really love watching the episodes about The Amazons because they make this very apparent:

Women have to work that much harder to be seen in a world that is still warlorded and governed by only men. We’re making strides but only because we do what The Amazons do. Because we fight for those very small victories that give us those necessary strides.

Nobody ever wants war just to have war. That’s foolish. They want war because they just want to be respected and understood. And if you watch every single episode of Xena about the tneme of “war” specifically, you will realize this for yourself too because even War himself wants be respected and understood as an equal. And so you see there really is no difference between men and women except that the scales aren’t balanced and any true depiction of feminism is about balance. It’s about women taking what they need to balance the scales and that’s it. Over and done with. But the thing is is that it hasn’t happened yet. So we continue on…

Every woman that is truly about that cause is an Amazon too. Are a part of the Amazon Nation too.

We don’t want all the power, fame, riches or control.

We just want to be equal to what already has all that.

And that is and always has been MEN. This is what women in the cause of feminism want to change. Not the fact that men have it or shouldn’t have it. But that women should have access to all of that just as much.

You see The Amazons in Xena do this. You see them fight for their land, fight for each other, fight for their children and even fight for their own men. Yes, you see them fight against men for the most part but it’s never really in the cause to overthrow them or to have power over them. It’s all in the cause to be equal to them. It’s a really honest, visceral, necessary depiction because it shows you when and where that can go very wrong and then exactly what needs to be done to put it right.

Everything I watch or engage with when it comes to art/entertainment involves women empowerment somewhere. It’s incredibly important to me to have females in leading roles, as leading characters and saying and doing things that you would typically expect and get with and from the opposite gender.

Any and all genuine female representation matters to me in any format - on any platform. I will do my damnedest to help and support it because it’s what I’m all about. What I care most about. What I am most passionate about. Female representation when it’s truly sincere representation is everything to me.