Is Loki Gay, Bisexual or Straight?

There are a handful of MCU characters that have been revealed to be a part of the LGBT+ community. When it comes to Loki his story goes a bit further because of the Norse mythology inspiration behind his character. With mythology comes a different set of circumstances, although they could be applied to our times as well. So let’s see, is Loki gay, bisexual or straight?

We can definitely say that Loki is bisexual. This was revealed with his flirtatious comments towards Prodigy, his teammate in a comic series called „Young Avengers“. After this, it was confirmed that he had relationships in the past with both sexes in the Disney+ show Loki.

We are going to take a further look at how Loki’s sexuality evolved through time, what were some of the things that were taken from Norse mythology, and how it all looks in today’s interpretations. Stay with us and keep reading to find out more!

Loki in Norse Mythology

Most of what we know today about the Nordic Gods comes from a thirteenth-century textbook called The Prose Edda, which was written in Iceland. It’s not a surprise that a lot of what inspired Marvel’s version of Loki goes back to those texts. He is one of the most widespread gods within our sources and holds a significant role in the actual stories.

Our god of mischief lives up to his title, from the moment he entered the world of Aesir he has been constantly tricking the other gods. Despite his trickery, he would also on occasion work for the Aesir’s benefit. Interestingly enough, even though him being an essential part of Nordic mythology, there’s not much evidence of worship towards him.

The meaning of his name is debated to this day, but the current best guess is that it relates to knots or tangles. Which would directly connect to him being referred to as the creator of webs. Metaphorically, this would suggest further that his character is deceptive and that with his actions he can catch others in it or even get caught up in the web himself.

Now, when it comes to his sexuality we have to keep in mind that when talking about this in the context of mythology and it’s kind of odd to look at his preferences as bisexual in a classical sense. Although, there is an interesting aspect to Loki’s gender identity, in the original texts he is referred to by the pronoun „they“.

Because on many occasions, since he is also a shapeshifter, he would turn into different animals and human-like forms in male and female variations. In one instance, and it’s probably one of the more unusual parts of The Prose Edda, Loki turned himself into a mare so he could distract him from working on a wall to protect the Aesir.

Initially, the gods made a deal with an unnamed Jötunn or giant who with the help of his horse Svadilfari had to build a wall to protect Asgard from an upcoming threat. Loki suggested that the gods make him a deal where he had to build the wall under a very short deadline otherwise they wouldn’t have to pay him. Even if he didn’t finish the wall, they would have most of the job done and find someone else to finish building it.

This would eventually backfire because with the help of his strong horse the Jötunn would finish the wall on time. The gods threaten Loki that they will punish him if he doesn’t fix the situation, and so to distract the horse Loki turned into a mare and seduces the horse.

This slowed down the master builder who didn’t finish the wall in time and Loki actually gave birth to an eight-legged horse. The horse was called Sleipnir and he was the fastest horse in the universe, he would later on become Odin’s horse.

It’s definitely safe to say that this is a very odd situation in which we would have to apply sexual characteristics in the same sense as we would in the real world. In some sense, yes, Loki can be described as bisexual and gender-fluid in Norse mythology.

We could also interpret him as potentially asexual as well, because of his lack of emotions or need for sexual encounters. He would often use his powers of seduction in different forms, but it would all be to serve his ultimate goal to trick or deceive.

Loki in Comics, Movies, TV Show

When we look at the comics Loki’s sexuality and gender identity doesn’t come up until 2008. The first hint that comes up is his gender fluidity in Thor Volume 3, chapter five. After the destruction of Asgard in the wake of Ragnarok, Thor is rebuilding his home. While every god he brought back we’re the same as before, Loki came back as a woman.

The second hint towards Loki’s bisexuality in the comic books happened in the Young Avengers Volume 2. Where a new and more complex version of Loki would appear, since in this timeline there was a good version of Loki, one that didn’t have classical „bad guy“ tendencies. Soon after that, another Loki appeared and it was a version similar to his past self and he would go on to kill the good version of himself.

In the movies which include the Thor franchise and The Avenger movies, there wasn’t much talk about his sexuality but we could definitely see him use his shapeshifting abilities. On occasion, he would turn into female characters as well but it is not really addressed in any special way other than commenting on how he is skilled in this type of magic.

The final and latest confirmation we have is from the Disney+ show „Loki“. In the third episode the character of Loki and his female version, bring up their past relationships in a conversation and Loki replied that he had relationships with men and women.

From all that we’ve mentioned so far, we can definitely say that the character of Loki, whether we’re talking about his origins in The Prose Edda or the 2021 TV show Loki, is open when it comes to his sexuality and especially gender.