Considering that Liz Friedman explained that not labelling the gender identity of Miss Artiphys in the episode āHere She Comesā¦ Miss Amphipolisā was so that they could get Xena and another woman to kiss on-screen, I would not doubt at all that this was the truth.
It comes across as erasure and it comes across as queerbaiting. But actually, this was just how they could have anything even remotely lesbian/sapphic happen.
They had to hide it in plain sight.
They had to use metaphors.
It wasnāt allowed otherwise.
It didnāt stop them from doing everything they could.
Iāve literally just watched the episode āKindred Spiritsā and to all lesbian and/or queer viewers, that episode is an episode about 2 lovers being so far passed the āhoneymoonā phase that they have an episode entirely dedicated to the subject of settling down together and the conflicts that could arise from that very suggestion.
Itās brilliantly written as to thinly come across as just 2 best friends wanting to be roommates. But they do not play it that way at all. Like whatsoever. Itās very blatant.
Itās very much framed as 2 married women with a recently born baby contemplating on settling down together but disagreeing on the whereās and whyās of that. Resulting in them almost separating from one another for a few weeks so that they can work things out. Thatās literally in the dialogue for the characters.
They do literally hide the lesbian/sapphic romance in plain sight because most of the time the script and the portrayal is anything but platonic. Itās just not possible.
They very intentionally play or frame it romantically. So yes, because there isnāt any explicit confirmation, that comes across today as erasure or queerbaiting. If you remove the context of censorship from the narrative then thatās what it looks like on the surface. But that could not be farther from the truth of what it actually is.
Because what it actually is is sincere conscientious work at trying their damnedest to represent LGBTQ+ as much as they possibly can in whatever ways they can with the network censors breathing down their neck.
Itās a 90ās show and in a 90ās show anything gay/lesbian/queer wasnāt allowed in TV art/entertainment. But there were those that didnāt give a fuck about it.
The Xena creators were very much in the latter crowd.
And I will spend eternity making sure people know it!
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