 The original design of Linux Fox, created by Al Mackey in 1996 |
Xenia was a candidate logo and mascot for the Linux project. She was a competitor to Tux, who became the official Linux mascot (largely due to a personal endorsement from Linus Torvalds)[1]
History
Xenia was originally designed by Alan Mackey in 1996, under the name 'Linux Fox'.[2] Linux Fox came in third in a competition to vote for the official Linux logo - the second place entrant was Tux, and the first was a "Linux Powered" logotype by Matt Ericson.[3]
Mackey's Linux Fox was rediscovered by an audiovisual artist known on Twitter as @cathodegaytube in 2019. Cathodegaytube's partner Amy Wright coined the name Xenia for Linux Fox, and Cathodegaytube developed a refreshed design inspired by Mackey's original work.
Cultural Impact
When cathodegaytube contacted Mackey for comment on her updated design for Xenia in 2020, she was surprised to learn that he had originally intended his Linux Fox to be a boy. This series of coincidences spurned many artists, including cathodegaytube herself, to create artwork of Xenia with transgender pride flags and other pride iconography.[4] This fresh take on the design was embraced by the considerable subcommunity of LGBTQ+ and gender nonconforming Linux enthusiasts, which had been developing and thriving over the 24 years since Linux Fox's conception.
Xenia has thus become widely popular within large subsections of the Linux community and returned to cultural prominence. She is now often seen as an unofficial second mascot of Linux alongside Tux, especially among enthusiasts.
Related Work
Xenia Linux - a "meta-distribution" made up of a set of scripts to turn any Linux distribution into an immutable base and provide helpful tools - is named after Xenia. Its primary flavor is based on Gentoo.[5]
References
- ↑ Why the Linux mascot is a penguin: The story behind Tux, Stetson Blake, April 2023 (Accessed April 5 2025).
- ↑ But penguins aren't even furry!, Ed Mackey, August 1998 (Accessed April 2025).
- ↑ Penguins and Other Things, Greg Roelofs, February 2007 (Accessed April 2025).
- ↑ Xenia: the Linux mascot, Efi, 2020 (Accessed April 2025).
- ↑ Xenia Linux, Xenia Linux Team, 2023 (Accesed April 2025).