Diagnosing Loki Fangirls

[incisivis]

Well, I've been away from blogging for a while, and there's no excuse but that I somehow lost the mojo, which is easy to do since this is a hobby and not the job I intend to have. It's why I can be so lazy to begin with. So, let's get to it.

I saw Thor a while ago, and it was a fun movie--to me, it read like a better version of The Lion King, with

Comments

[wrongly_amused]

I have a vague theory regarding certain cases of this. Because we live in a culture where female sexuality is fraught with so many social expectations/biases/etc., women don't feel allowed to express attraction to characters like Tom Hiddleston's Loki just because. They have to alter or deny aspects of the character in order to make it "okay." Additionally, I do think some of this ties back to the cultural narrative of women are nurturers and supporters; women are considered a reflection of the men they are with, the children they raise, responsible to and for the moral fabric of a family, and we see that mirrored in fandom villain apologist.

As for why we don't see the opposite? Men live in a culture that positively reinforces their (heteronormative) sexual desires, so they don't have the problem of having to explain it. It's simply taken as part of their nature. Then there's the fact that female villains are frequently sexuality to begin with (or they're outright ugly, in order to reflect a monstrous nature), and female characters in general tend to be stripped of the complexities and nuances that make characters like Loki so compelling. The female villain is often just an object rather than a personable character, so there's no moral quandary to consider in being attracted to the character.

[incisivis]

Yes, I agree. I was trying to get a similar point.