Most people have heard of Loki thanks to Marvel, but few people know quite how queer the old Norse god really was.
We will never truly know the full extent of Loki's queerity and genderfluidity. In fact, we will never fully know about the Norse Myths because the people who recorded them did not worship the gods. Snorri Sturluson, the historian who documented the myths in a book called the Edda, was a Christian who wrote the Edda many years after most of the Nordic regions had converted to Christianity. The records we have of Norse myths were written from Christian perspectives and from an unreliable source (Snorri was known for making up and changing myths).
I have seen a few arguments saying that Loki was not actually genderfluid because he only takes a feminine form when it's necessary for trickery. While that argument is valid there is no evidence that in the original myths he didn't change gender more often. It is completely plausible that Snorri Sturluson used masculine pronouns for all the myths that don't require other pronouns for his own reasons. Snorri edited many myths to fit Christian ideals and it's not particularly far-fetched to suggest he edited Loki's identity too. It's up to each individual to make up their minds on this topic, and I will always believe Loki to be genderfluid.
There are many myths that show Loki transforming into a woman, for example in the Lokasenna Odin mocks him for having lived as a woman on Midgard for eight years and in the Death of Baldur he takes two female forms but I believe the two best myths are the Gylfaginning and the Þrymskviða.
In the Gylfaginning Loki transforms into a mare to distract a horse (to fix a mess he caused... It's a long story) and ends up giving birth to the eight-legged horse.
In the Þrymskviða, a giant takes Thor's hammer and ransoms it for Freya's hand in marriage. Freya would not stand for it, but Loki was all too happy to suggest he and Thor replace her. He miraculously convinces Thor to crossdress, wear a wedding gown and pretend to be Freya, and he shapeshifts into a feminine form of himself who posses as Thor!Freya's handmaid. Loki appears to be delighted with the arrangement, Thor is less enthusiastic but goes along with it for the sake of his precious hammer. They go through the wedding until the hammer is brought forward, at which point Thor rips off his veil (much to the surprise of the giants) and starts a huge fight.
There is also plenty of evidence to suggest Loki will sleep with anyone; male, female, god, giant, horse, anyone.
So there you have it, the queer Norse God of Mischief.
Sources:
The Prosaic Edda, Snorri Sturluson
Norse Mythology, Neil Gaiman
https://www.tor.com/2012/11/12/seven-norse-myths-we-wouldnt-have-without-snorri/
https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2021/06/13/yes-loki-is-genderfluid-in-norse-mythology/
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Queer History
Non-FictionI'm not sure if anyone wants this but as a queer history nerd, I want to share parts of our history. I think it's important to remember the people who came before us and to remember that we are not alone, we've been around for centuries. So I'll go...
