systlin:

lh-moth:

systlin:

systlin:

shadow-daughter:

systlin:

The problem here is that he’s a shapeshifter, and can wear any face he (sometimes she) desires. 

HOWEVER, most people who work with him seem to agree on the following things

1. Red hair

2. Lanky

3. Smirk

4. SHOCKINGLY attractive. Even if he/she isn’t usually Your Type. 

I think it’s the smirk. He does the GRIN.

Truth.

Incidentally, despite Loki’s tendency to shapeshift, including into female form sometimes, ‘they/them’ pronouns don’t…seem to fit for him. He seems to present as male the majority of the time, and like being called ‘him’. 

On the other hand, if he chooses to assume female form, the pronoun preferred seems to be ‘she’. 

This is absolutely UPG, but there’s no measure of ambiguity. Either one or the other, wholly. 

So if anyone was wondering, this is why I refrain from using they/them pronouns for Loki. 

I agree with how you’ve explained this, but I also wanted to chime in as someone who does often use they/them pronouns when referring to Loki.

In my experience, it feels like the important distinction is that they/them pronouns aren’t a part of Loki’s identity. (Excepting any times when Loki might choose to shapeshift into a genderqueer person, of course.) I’m not sure how to articulate this… I guess I would describe my use of they/them pronouns for Loki as more of a placeholder. Unless I’m actually talking with them in the moment, I don’t have any way if knowing for certain which pronouns are accurate, so I default to neutral terminology.

Another reason I use they/them pronouns is because it helps me reaffirm that Loki isn’t always a man. There are quite a few people – both in and out of pagan communities – who treat Loki’s time a woman like an exception or a fluke, rather than accepting that it’s a part of who she is. How many times do people continue using “he” when talking about Loki’s actions after she’s switched genders? I’ve even seen people trying to apply post-Christianity – or worse, post-Victorian – ideals to this, usually as a way to portray Loki’s gendershifting as something inherently negative. Using they/them pronouns can challenge people to think more critically about this…or it will piss them off, in which case, hey, now you know who to avoid. And let’s be honest, purposefully tweaking the noses of any (cis)sexists in a group is definitely something Loki is going to get a kick out of.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is that, yes, it’s not necessary to use they/them pronouns for Loki. However, I’ve never gotten the sense that it bothers Loki if a person does want to use they/them. As long as it’s coming from a place of respect, and we make sure to use the correct pronouns when we know them.

An excellent point! 

I’ve always associated neutral pronouns with people who are neither men or women, and Loki always presents as either man or woman to me, so I have always been hesitant to use they/them in his case. 

But this is a good point.