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Loki and Gender Ambiguity

Mara Edgerton

Mara Edgerton

Lore Master
Personally, I think it's easier to identify with Loki because he's a more interesting character than Thor--but I do enjoy Loki's gender-bending in both mythology and fan fiction :)
 
deilaitha

deilaitha

Mystagogue
That was an amusing article. I enjoyed it. It reminds me of reading Shakespeare and all of the gender-bending that good old William did. The mythology of gender-bending is pretty common, like in Greek mythology, and honestly as a fan of world myths and literature, I could spend hours discussing this.

Personally, and as a woman, I do not see the femininity--or even gender ambiguity--in Loki's character (as he appears in the comics and movies). I do find male characters fascinating, and more fascinating, than female characters, because I do not identify entirely with male motivations. For me, female motivations are kind of a "same old, same old" thing. However, I agree with the author's annoyance of a lack of female presence in the Super Hero world.

I think the fascination with Loki over Thor, as Mara said, is because Thor is really pretty shallow and flat compared to Loki. As humans we long to understand what makes people act the way they do, and Thor's motivations simply are not as interesting as Loki's.

I admit that I come from a traditional background and do not identify myself as a modern feminist, but as more of a Suzie B. Anthony type of feminist. I have a traditional understanding of genders. (I know that Mythic Scribes is not the place to discuss highly controversial topics, but it is important to note how personal beliefs affect interpretations of cultural artifacts, and so I am offering full disclosure.) What some see as gender ambiguity, I see rather as a common denominator of human experience. It is all too easy to look at men and women as different races (thanks to certain Venus vs. Mars relationship counselors) and I think that is an incorrect way to go about it. However, while I think gender definitions are more than simply a social factor, it is important to acknowledge the commonality of human struggles that span gender.

If you want a fascinating look at gender, I highly recommend Ursula K. Leguin's The Left Hand of Darkness. Not only is it an interesting, exciting story, she explores gender roles and concepts in a most fascinating way. She is a huge fan of Virginia Woolf, so that should tell you a little about the approach she takes. (Woolf's Three Guineas, A Room of One's Own, and Orlando are also fascinating examinations of gender.)

I hope I haven't stirred controversy or offended anyone. I just wanted to share my thoughts.
 
deilaitha

deilaitha

Mystagogue
Oh, and my Senior Seminar in English was on Virginia Woolf, so if anyone ever wants to talk about Woolf I am up for that. Also I love mythology so if you want to chat about that, I studied a lot of non-Western pre-colonial and post-colonial literature. Not exactly fantasy topics, but one of my favorite writers, Gene Edward Veith, Jr., talks about how realism and fantasy really aren't so different. In his book Reading Between the Lines: A Christian Guide to Literature, he calls realism a lamp and fantasy a mirror. In reality, he says, they are looking at exactly the same thing.

I realize I have now deviated from the topic of the thread, but I love talking about fantasy vs. realism. It kind of annoys me that some bookstores have "literature" sections and "Sci-Fi/Fantasy" sections. In my mind, SFF is literature.

Back to the topic: I absolute love Loki, so thanks very much A.E. Lowan for posting this! Sorry for all my digressions!
 
A. E. Lowan

A. E. Lowan

Dark Lord
Don't worry about digressing a bit - this is, after all, a writer's forum and trying to keep us strictly on topic is rather like attempting to herd cats. ;)
 
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