User:Famous Five (5)/Alex Fierro

Alex Fierro is a fictional character and one of the main characters in Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series. A child of Loki, she is capable of shapeshifting and changing her gender at will. The characterization of Alex was praised by reviewers for its honest approach to real life realities.

Description
Alex is selected as an einherjar by Samirah and the latter oversees the former's first appearance as a cheetah running across Valhalla with Magnus and his floormates chasing her. Fierro had attacked the hotel manager and messed her given room. Alex is different from other einherjar in different ways such as being genderfluid, an ability passed down from Loki, her mother, often switching between male and female genders and complementing her usage of transformation. Magnus is intially shocked by this, but later grows to accept it. Due to this, the thanes of Valhalla and some fellow einherjar call her argr, Old Norse for unmanly. Being a child of Loki, Alex is distrusted at first, but is later accepted by Magnus and his floormates. Alex Fierro is also capable of shapeshifting, another trait from Loki.

Reception
Alex Fierro was praised by reviewers as a new attempt to secure LGBTQ rights. Texas A&M University noted that the introduction of Fierro complicated matters. They noted that Riordan spent more time with Fierro's prose, but that it deepened her characterization. They also noted that Fierro made a point about not representing the entire transgender population in the book. Hypable said that the introduction of Fierro, a gender fluid teen is a "risk" as a portion of the population will not want their children to be exposed to the "realities of life". However, they do note that Riordan's "firm grasp" over his audience will make things acceptable. They further note that readers being exposed to people different from themselves is a good thing and state that Alex is a "step in the right direction," who is also a warrior and potential love interest of Chase, the lead character of the novel.

Laughing Place states that Riordan has taken the issue of LGBTQ and used his books as a way of educating readers to be accepting of people, no matter how they identify themselves. The narrator Chase explains that Fierro's identity does not bother him outwardly and internally. Kirkus Reviews stated that through the addition of Fierro, a gender-fluid half sibling of Muslim valkyrie Samirah Al Abbas, Riordan effectively interposed racial and sexual complexity into the "all-white" Norse mythological world. Common Sense Media states that Fierro is one of Riordan's diverse characters, and her struggles add more depth to the story. Booklist notes that Fierro deals with the social issue of gender-fluidity, as she was born male but predominantly identifies as female.

Accolades
The Hammer of Thor won the Stonewall Book Award for Children's Literature in 2017 for its portrayal of the genderfluid character Alex Fierro. The American Library Association said that Fierro was a hero who represented the "expansive possibilities" of gender for future generations.

Controversies
In early January 2017, Texas Republican lawmakers introduced a bathroom bill based on that of North Carolina. The Texas Legislature invited Riordan, who had created transgender demigod characters such as Fierro, for the authors' event to honor him. Riordan declined the offer and told them to "stop this nonsense" if they wanted to honor him. The Washington Post expressed the view that fans of Riordan and Fierro will make the next generation of American leaders more tolerant.