New Xenaland: Lesbian place making,the Xenaverse,and Aotearoa New Zealand

This article explores the relationship between unmappable lesbian space, the Xenaverse, which is a complex discursive space generated out of the syndicated television show Xena: Warrior Princess, and the national space of Aotearoa New Zealand. The article argues that the Xenaverse is an imaginary space which is also a lesbian space and that it is partially pulled into material national space by its links to Aotearoa New Zealand. It is therefore an excellent example of the complex and recursive process of lesbian place making. The role of distance as a significant factor for dominant national discourses, the Xenaverse, and lesbian possibility is discussed to partially account for the materialisation of the Xenaverse in Aotearoa New Zealand. The article suggests that unmappable lesbian spaces such as the Xenaverse can be examined using three analytic filters: ephemeral space; queered lesbian space; and neo-colonial processes.