Queer Rep - Blog Posts
super late to the party here, but honestly all i wanted out of the loki series was at least neutral rep for genderfluidity/bisexualtiy for loki, maybe have sigyn make an appearance, and learn more about loki's time with thanos/in the void. the only thing on this list i got was loki's sex being "fluid", and the mention of bisexuality that is undermined in the same episode its introduced by having loki fall in love with sylvie
this is obviously not to say that opposite sex relationships can't happen, but i feel as if it continues the false belief from biphobic people that bisexuals just "havent found the right person yet," usually in relation to the opposite gender rather than a same-sex pairing. once i knew sigyn wasnt gonna be introduced and his bi orientation was confirmed, i was really looking forward to him having an mlm pairing, but instead, he got pushed with sylvie
I Intentionally Start Shit in the Loki Tag
If you complain about Sylvie being "harmful queer rep" BUT want "Lady Loki" in the MCU, which was Loki possessing Sif's body just to torment Sif, I need you to sit down and shut up. a. Genderfluid people don't go by "Lady " when they're femme or women. b. If you don't see the transphobic dogwhistles in the comics possession subplot, I don't know what to tell you... But let's say that hag that wrote those crappy books would love it. c. If you weren't aware about this, maybe you should read the wiki at least before giving uninformed opinions.
I definitely agree that they should not have led people on with the promise of genderfluid rep during the promotion of the series. But get mad at Disney/Marvel for that. Not at the writers or Sophia Di Martino that had to cave in to Feige's demands. That's literally what they have to do.
I really don't give a damn about the "autogynephilia" allegations, which again, is ALSO PRESENT IN CIS WOMEN. Like why the fuck should I care about someone finding themselves hot? There's fascists out there. AGP even if it was a trans-specific thing harms no one. The only harm said to come from it is DUE TO FASCISM because it plays into RESPECTABILITY POLITICS.
If you use AI to create a "proper" Lady Loki or love interest for Loki, you can't complain about the blatant product placement in S2. I am not a fan of product placement either and won't defend it, but those are the rules. Show some integrity. And before you ask, I have not given a cent to Disney since they pissed me off with attempts to trademark Dia de los Muertos for Coco.
If you complain about how being a "Loki" is not a role (unlike Spiderman) and how it should have been all 100% Tom Hiddleston, you don't get to call it selfcest as a gotcha, because you're already differentiating between the variants with different DNA. Like do y'all hate selfcest or not? Make up your mind. The series treats a Loki as an archetype of sorts, so it can be a role. Also, having the same name does not make you related because we don't know what Sylvie's parents are? And we don't even know if Sylvie is also a Jotun, a prop claims she isn't.
If you say you want Sylvie dead but claim to not be misogynistic, because you'd love if a specific love interest from the comics or mythology replaced her, STFU. You only like those because you can project whatever the fuck you want onto them.
If you claim Sylvie is a misogynistic depiction of women but salivate over characters written by cishet white men in the 1960s-1980s that made wanting to fuck Thor or being in a monogamous marriage with Loki their entire personality (there's so MANY OF THESE), STFU. Do you hear yourself? And no, it's not misogynistic of me, a woman, to criticize offensive depictions of women by cishet white men. They're not real.
Our MCU!Loki is not the young adult Ikol reincarnation currently. Of course 20-something Verity is not going to be there! The Loki show should be praise for having multiple female cast members around the same age as the protagonist and pragmatic clothing choices that allowed SdM to nurse her baby.
Selfcest isn't real and I cry tears of boredom whenever someone clutches their pearls over it.
The comics aren't perfect. As much as I loved the recent Dan Watters run (and German Peralta's art), the comics art has some very questionable tendencies, especially regarding Loki's nose when she's femme. It's associated with how some kinds of facial features are considered masculine or feminine (and racialized). Noses have no gender, ffs! Women with nose bumps exist! For some reason Loki always has a tiny button nose when she's a woman or femme. There's also the BLATANT physiognomy that has ALWAYS PLAGUED Thor comics since their inception, and Loki's facial features as they've become more "grey" and less evil is an interesting study. Peralta's far from being the only artist with this problem, and is far from being the most problematic. For comparison from Loki (2023) run:
Loki from ye olden days:
On “The Owl House“, my fave is Amity Her emotional range runs the gamut-y And we all know her crush Upon Luz makes her blush If they’re not end game, that’s a calamity - Mod M
About good queer rep, I have no qualm Which is why Owl House is the bomb aaaaaa AAAAAA That was my reaction to Grom :) - Mod M
The queer youth today are being FED
I have a younger sister who recently came out as a lesbian (to nobody's surprise) and even though the world is still sorely lacking of lesbian content, queer content has gotten a massive boost these past 5 years.
When I was young and looking for queer rep I'd find it in the weirdest places. We obviously have fandoms, and fanfic and queerbaiting, but also the amount of movies I watched just for a single queer scene? I remember watching an adam sandler film about him having a billion kids solely because one of those kinds was matthew daddario playing a queer guy. Also watching teenwolf for the one very stereotypical gay side character. There were several others aswell, but I can't remember them at the moment
I remember the feeling of reading percy jackson and finding out Nico was gay, of reading the mortal instruments and finding out Alec was gay, I was so starved for any sort of representation that I held on to my small crumbs for dear life.
(Shoutout to the 100 for being one of very few, if any, tv shows with very natural queer rep and not a single hint of homophobia in show.)
My sister now has heartstopper, young royals, warrior nun, good omens, interview with the vampire (tho she's still a bit young for that one) and she has video game characters!!! She has ellie and dina, she has pretty much everyone in the life is strange games, and she even has aloy. I remember playing life is strange with my ex (the main game) and even though it has very queer undertones etc, it isn't very explicita, tbf it's a while since I played it so I might be wrong about that
My point is, we still have a very long way to go when it comes to queer rep in media, but goddamn it IS getting better.
“When Nicholas Webb quits his job as a high profile journalist to move across the country to the small and seemingly mundane Ælctown, with the goal of organizing his recently inherited grandfather’s library, he isn’t expecting much. Some time to clear his mind perhaps. But Ælctown is not like any other that Nicholas has ever encountered, and the quickly loosing facade of normal rapidly unravels his understanding of himself, and the world around him. “
The Oddities of Ælctown is a Queer Paranormal podcast, following the story of Nicholas Webb as he untangles the mysteries left on tapes by 17 year old Beck from over forty years ago, in his audio diary that follows his confusing and lonely teenage years in Ælctown . It is written, voiced acted, directed,and produced by two young queer trans men, and aims to be representative of a multitude of different mental health issues, alongside various forms of queer representation. For more information on when the podcast will drop, follow our tumblr and give us some love! <3
- The Creators of The Oddities Of Ælctown
(Art Credit To @Juno.ac.art on Instagram.)