Marvel Studios Steps Towards Inclusion by Confirming Loki’s Bisexuality

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is one of the most important franchises today. It has more than 20 films and, since the beginning of this year, several series have also been adding to this universe . These are: WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki. This latest series is being broadcast through the Disney Plus streaming platform.

In Loki we follow a version of the Norse God of Lies who, after the events of Avengers: Engame, has escaped with the Tesseract, only to be captured by agents of the Time Variance Authority (TVA), a group that proclaims itself as the protectors of the sacred timeline.

Loki has been a fundamental piece in the construction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe . In several installments of this saga, this character has played both the role of villain and that of a redeemed hero, becoming one of the most popular figures in this universe.

In the Loki series, Marvel Studios has taken a step toward openly including LGBT characters within their stories . In the third chapter of Loki, his main character, played by Tom Hiddleston, confirms that he is bisexual .

This is the first time that a main character in the franchise has defined himself on screen as bisexual . The statement occurs during a scene in which Loki is asked if there have been any relevant women or men in his love life, to which the character responds by stating that there has been a bit of both.

It's canon in Marvel comics that Loki is both gender-fluid and pansexual . During the release of the promotional material for the series, a glance at Loki's file on TVA could read that it was gender fluid. This gave rise to several rumors, which indicated that the series would also confirm that the character was pansexual or bisexual. As we could see, in the version of the character for the Marvel Cinematic Universe they have chosen to present him as bisexual

This is confirmed by the director of the series, Kate Herron, who declared through her Twitter account that since she joined this project, it had been a very important goal for her to recognize that Loki was bisexual . She also said that she knew this was a small step, but that she was very happy to say that it was now something canon within this franchise.

It is useful at this point to narrow down the differences between bisexuality and pansexuality to understand the distinction that this represents in the character of Loki. Bisexuality refers to people who feel sexual or romantic attraction towards men and women. For its part, pansexuality is the sexual or romantic attraction that can be felt towards another person regardless of their sex or gender identity.

The naturalness with which the character's bisexuality has been presented has been considered as positive, together with the fact that it is not defined only based on its sexual orientation, but that this is one more of the many nuances that make up and represent it .

Also read: Luca: the Pixar and Disney Movie That Celebrates Diversity

Will there be more LGBT representation in Marvel movies?

As the director of the series has expressed, only a small step has been taken towards inclusion, since so far in this franchise no LGBT character has really been seen actively exercising their sexuality, as if it has happened with dozens of heterosexual couples whose stories have been featured on screen.

For years, Marvel Studios has been criticized for the lack of explicitly LGBT figures in a franchise made up of hundreds of characters. Given this, Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, has assured that in the next productions of the UCM there will be more representation of this community .

It has already been announced that in Eternals, a film to be released in November of this year, the first openly gay couple of the MCU will be presented . Feige has also stated that in Thor: Love and Thunder, a film that would hit theaters in February 2022, the character of Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson, will have a story arc that includes an LGBT story.

The importance of representation

The inclusion of LGBT figures in films and series is a way of normalizing these identities in the collective imagination, giving them voices and realistically showing the diverse sexual orientations present in our society.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the most successful franchises in the world. His productions are enjoyed by audiences of all ages around the world. Several of his films are among the highest grossing in history and his characters are already part of current pop culture.

For all the above, the presentation of characters with diverse sexual orientations in franchises such as Marvel's can be considered quite favorable when speaking of representation of the LGBT community in fictional stories.

In short, it can be said that Marvel Studios has made a first move towards inclusion and equality . To expand the scope of these actions, it is necessary that in the future more and more characters from the LGBT community find space and leadership within this franchise.