Disney has just announced that they are going to give their female character, Valkyrie, a female love interest in the next Thor movie.
In the upcoming film “Thor: Love and Thunder,” Valkyrie, king of Asgard, is looking for her queen. Recently, Disney has started to show brief references to the LGBTQ+ community with movies like the live-action version of “Beauty and the Beast,” in which two male characters danced together, a scene that was met with backlash.
An Alabama drive-in-theater refused to show “Beauty and the Beast,” Russia put a 16-plus rating on the movie, and Malaysia’s film censorship board asked Disney to remove the scene. When Disney said no, Malaysia decided to show it anyway.
“Of course, it is Alabama,” said Lisa Sachs, a Woodside sophomore. “America and a lot of countries are still ahead of other countries [though], and there are still other places that are behind and need to catch up.”
The reaction towards Valkyrie being lesbian has been positive so far, with the actress Tessa Thompson, who plays Valkyrie, being one of the number one supporters. Many Woodside students support the move as well.
“I totally support it,” Rei Mead, a Woodside sophomore, proclaimed. “I totally saw it coming. I think it’s awesome that we’re finally getting representation in the media. It’s not very common even now with everyone becoming more open with their gender and sexuality.”
Representation is something that is important to the LGBTQ+ community and has affected many students personally.
“I think [representation is] good,” Sachs explained. “I learned to be myself from friends and finding the right people to be open with.”
Seeing LGBTQ+ representation as a child can also have a large effect on their outlook.
“It has made me feel a lot better about myself,” described Lourdes Arteaga, a Woodside senior. “Growing up watching a lot of kids’ shows like Disney Channel and all that, I never ever saw [LGBT representation]. Now that it’s becoming a little bit shown more, it makes me feel really happy. It makes me feel, I don’t want to use the word normal, but better about myself.”
Rei Mead explained the importance of having LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream media.
“It can be incredibly isolating to feel like you’re the only person to feel the way you do,” Mead said. “But if you read in a book or see in a movie that there’s someone else that also likes girls, even though they’re a girl… it kind of makes you realize that there’s a community you’re a part of. No one deserves to feel alone.”
