40. Real-Life Xenas: Warrior Women Across the World

Happy 2022 and welcome to another episode of History is Gay! This time, we’re picking up where we left off with Meghan Rose and S.C. Lucier in our discussion of Amazons and real-life warrior women in history! It’s not just the Greco-Roman world that marveled at fierce, strong female fighters, but all over the world! This episode, we’re visiting Benin, Africa to learn about the real-life dora milaje of Black Panther fame, the gender-bending Dahomey Amazons; badass female samurai defending their homesteads in Japan, and Viking shieldmaidens and mythical Valkyries– who may have been a third gender? Strap-in for a whirlwind worldwide tour of gender transgression and badass real-life Xenas we want to see all the movies about!

You can learn more about our guest hosts Meg and Luce, Xena: Warrior Musical, and more of their forthcoming projects at www.xenawarriormusical.com, @XenatheMusical on Twitter, and @XenaWarriorMusical on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube!

Outline
0:00 – Introduction
4:27 – Announcements & Follow-Up from Last Episode
12:48 – Main Topic: Warrior Women Throughout the World
13:33 – Word of the Week
18:54 – Amazon-Like Women in Africa: Dahomey Amazons/mino
43:22-44:13 – Content warning: Discussion of slave trade
46:22 – Amazon-Like Women in Japan: onna-bugeisha
1:06:50 – Amazon-Like Women in Scandinavia: the Vikings!
1:30:48 – Pop-Culture Tie-In
1:33:43 – How Gay were They?
1:39:07 – Closing and Where to Find us Online

For a full list of sources and bonus content, visit our Notes page! 

Apple Podcasts  |    Google Play    |    RadioPublic    |    Stitcher    |   Download

39. The Amazons: Stoner Horse Girl Warriors of Antiquity

Today’s episode brings you not one, but two, wonderful guest hosts – Meghan Rose and S.C. Lucier, (known collectively as Lucier&Rose), the creators of Xena: Warrior Musical - The Lost Scroll, joining Leigh to talk about everyone’s favorite badass warrior women of antiquity, Amazons! In this first part of a two-part episode examining warrior women throughout history, we’ll dive full-tilt into the myths, legends, and misconceptions about the all-female militant society that struck fear into the hearts of ancient Greek men – powerful women, GASP! Where did these stories come from? How queer were they? And were they real, or just figments of mythology? Listen to this episode to hear us answer all these questions and talk even more, including jokes about penis bones, drinking horse-milk booze, and smoking pot with Herotodus. 

Plus, Meg and Luce debut the very first song from their forthcoming musical, titled Atalanta: The Long Shot! 

You can learn more about Meg and Luce, Xena: Warrior Musical, and more of their forthcoming projects at www.xenawarriormusical.com, @XenatheMusical on Twitter, and @XenaWarriorMusical on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube!

Outline
0:00 – Introduction
10:37 – Socio-Historical Context
13:33 – The Amazons of Myth and Legend
31:10 – A tour through some Amazon queens
38:27-39:05 – Content warning: rape mention
40:34 – Atalanta, The Greek “Amazon”
59:55 – Real-Life Amazons: Warrior Women of Scythia
1:09:28 – Why do we think they're gay?
1:26:16 – Pop-Culture Tie-In
1:37:37 – How Gay were They?
1:46:09 – Closing and Where to Find us Online

For a full list of sources and bonus content, visit our Notes page! 

Apple Podcasts  |    Google Play    |    RadioPublic    |    Stitcher    |   Download