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Kotorigaro — 'The Hobbit' fanart: Dis
Published: 2012-12-30 22:24:05 +0000 UTC; Views: 25571; Favourites: 784; Downloads: 1078
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Description
To my pleasant surprise a quick sketch (abused with the smudge tool) has been fairly popular on tumblr (which is where I'd most likely post fanart) so I thought people here might like it too.
Info
For those with some reading still to do, Thorin Oakenshield has both a brother and a sister; his brother Frerin died at a young age at the Battle of Azanulbizar, but his sister Dís features as the mother of Fíli and Kíli (and she wasn’t at all happy about Thorin taking her sons off dragon hunting.)
In light of Thorin’s movie magnificence and his cutie nephews (this is according to tumblr, may as well not argue
), I got to wondering how much of a hottie dwarf Dís must be; their mother needs a little credit right? xDNot that the picture in my head translated at all.
Welp, I don’t draw humanoids enough.Having said that though, no reference wahey!
Yes Dwarf ladies have beards.
And of course she’d have magnificent hair to match Thorin's
It's fanart, so I don't mind what you do with it as long as you don't claim it as your own work. And a link back here would be nice. 
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Comments: 142
This is awesome. I've yet to see the films and (because I loved dragons too much and hated them being villainised as a child) haven't read the Hobbit. However, this totally caught my attention for another reason. I hope you might be willing to take the time to read my explanation:
I personally can't grow a beard, but I'm one of about 10% of the female population of the UK (different proportions elsewhere, but we're everywhere in the world) who borderline could try. Slightly less than 1 in 10 women would... or could, if they weren't forced to abide by the *extreme* feminisation of the standard beauty model for modern female bodies.
1 in 10 women have something called Poly Cystic Ovaries Syndrome (PCOS). At it's extreme, it gives us beards! It's genetically conferred i.e. hereditary. At its extreme, the hormone (im)balance causes real problems. We're talking sterility, increased risks of breast and ovarian cancer, irregular menstruation, not to mention the latter increases the likelihood of fallopian pregnancy (where the egg embeds in the folopian tube, grows, bursts it, and threatens to kill the mother from internal bleeding). At its extreme, it's no laughing matter: it's a severe health risk factor.
However, at my degree of symptoms, it takes away (slightly increases those risks aforementioned), but it also arguably gives. Given its genetic commonality, one has to wonder how something so otherwise toxic persisted in our gene pool to such a high degree. It's even more 'popularly featured' than Cystic Fibrosis or Sickle-cell Anaemia, the genes for which science now strongly believes have links to survivability of otherwise often-lethal diseases (namely TB in the case of CF, and Malaria in the case of SA - whilst possession of two genes leads to severe illness/disability, one copy of the gene confers survival of that individual should they contract the relevant disease).
From my experience, PCOS in women (perhaps this applies to the male equivalents too?) offers up women to the community as a whole, who may not be predisposed towards child-bearing. We can be tougher. Stronger. Bigger. Braver. More logical. Cool-headed in crisis, strong-headed in conflict, capable of intimidating, and leading, as ever the male stereotype is. In a world where sexuality is increasingly marked as influenced by genetic and epigenetic factors (natural factors) we are also are beginning to suspect that variance and diversity in humans (their builds, their natures, their 'roles' played in group survival) may be tied into this. So it is entirely possible, for something to be so prolific as PCOS, those genes advantaged humans in the past. In essence: it is suspected that actually the way bee and ant queens regulate their 'children' into different roles for the survival of the hive, may at times be mirrored by our own reproduction processes and genetic selection.
PCOS is too common and too long-known to be a problem only. Sure at it's extreme, it is medically damaging but then: so too is having a hormonal balance that is idealised by society presently. If you are naturally big breasted for example, you're not any better at suckling children at all, but you're almost assuredly going to have spinal problems unless you take drastic measures to compensate for your larger bust. It's not healthy to be extremely masculine, or extremely feminine - whether you're male or female.
That said, there is one thing that all women with PCOS suffer - even people with it milder than I have it (that's a quarter of all women, by the way, who have it 'severe enough to present symptoms', such as 'male pattern' body hair and fat distribution). It's a medically serious condition that damages a person's mind, can ruin their lives, and plays a far higher role in mortality related to PCOS. That condition is...
Depression.
- And it's not a symptom of PCOS. It's a symptom of how society treats women who have it.
3/4 of women could - to meet the standards of what a 'woman', what 'female' is suppose to look like according to society - do very little after waking up in the morning, and carry on with their lives. A woman who has any variation of PCOS, must spend a lot more time altering her appearance, to conform to the same standards. Women with it more severe than me, can kill themselves trying to conform. "Don't spend so long in the bathroom, will you? Gosh, you're so vain..."
Depression, and suicidal depression, is entirely an artefact of social conditioning - nothing medical behind it whatsoever.
Now... I can't grow a beard but... seeing a picture like yours, with people *not* being revolted and disgusted by her, makes *me* feel safe. It makes me feel like maybe tomorrow I could give the tweezers a break (well, maybe if the stubble didn't drive me nuts lol! Once you start, you just can't stop - even if it's just *one* hair!). It makes me feel like maybe I wouldn't be seen as a freak, if I just... well... was *just me* - no alterations. Everyone feels nervous about that, but some of us have greater reasons than others. It's not universal. It's not something all of us suffer with equally.
So... I get the impression you didn't make this for any such reasons. However, I want you to know the impact that such art, done as well as you have done this piece, can have a profound impact on people you maybe couldn't even imagine or wouldn't even know existed beforehand. Sometimes that impact is good. Sometimes it's bad. You made something good. Thank you.
For just a moment, you made me actually feel safe and welcome in my own skin, and that is a mighty gift.
Acceptance of diversity is something we have lost, yet it is arguably the benchmark of our entire species.
Of of all mammals, I believe we have the highest rate of miscarriage but that is when environmental pollutants and dispersal of bad genetic controls for pregnancy success are not withstanding. Even without those influences: humans have a high propensity for mutation, that in 1 in every 5 pregnancies, is so extreme it leads to miscarriage within the first 5-7 weeks of pregnancy. It is literally written into our genes: we take chances to make unique individuals, and we do that to an extreme degree relative to other species on our planet. Yet which species is it, that has a computer sat in front of it right now reading what I'm writing? Hmm. Perhaps our risk-taking, does have some rewards.
In a world where we desperately need smart people who can bring novel perspectives on old problems and offer up innovative solutions, we desperately need to embrace what genetically it seems humans have always held as our strongest suit: that our diversity is what enables us to conquer adversity.
Artwork, literature, videogames and all forms of media from textbooks to advertisements, arguably inform our cultural acceptance and definitions of what is 'normal', and therefore also 'acceptable'.
Whether you mean to or not, this piece that you've created, is influential and if nothing else, it lifted my spirits.
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Of all the image I've seen concerning Tolkien dwarven women, I like this one the most. As stated in the novels, and in the movie adaption of the Two Towers, it is extremely difficult for non-dwarves to differentiate between dwarven men and women. I think this image captures that aspect perfectly.
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I'm definitely imagining your Dís in my head cannon now :3 She's so beautiful, you did an amazing job!
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Holy crap. I can see both Fili and Kili in her. What a lady! This is how I'm imagining her from now on hahaha
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This is amazing. My jaw dropped when I saw it. Very well done!!!
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She is indeed majestic O_O Beautifully done! This certainly fits my idea of Dis, you really made her look like Thorins sibling, one of Durins bloodline, and oh that gorgeous hair... I wouldn't say that I'm normally attracted to ladies with beards, but I certainly am now
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I love your work, your Dís is amazing. The beard and the hair, so very well done- she's a real beauty
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I love how feminine she looks, despite of the beard.
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For some reason, I thought of Galadriel when I saw this...
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I think you did an amazing job with this. (Sometime the quick work is the best.) When I always imagine Dis, I just sort of saw her as a generic, pudgy dwarf woman. But then, I wanted an image to look at while I wrote her into my fanfic so I typed her name into the search and saw this picture, I was like - Yes. This is Dis as she ought to be. She looks exactly like Thorin's sister and like the mother of Fili and Kili. I'm impressed. And she manages to be beautiful with the beard. I think this is amazing and I'm totally using this as my inspiration for her character - thank you!
(You should do a drawing of Frerin.)
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Aw, thank you for your comment! 
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That beard is really freaky. However I did read that the females have them so I suppose it's okay. Nice job.
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Hey. Just remember: some women can grow beards. Granted, you should pity the ones that could grow a full beard like this: it means they've got a medically-damaging hormone imbalance that predisposes them to ovarian and breast cancer, infertility, messed up menstruation, not to mention if they ever actually manage to get pregnant: increased likelihood of death and/or complications from ectopic (egg implants itself in the fallopian tube instead of the womb) pregnancy.
[Although, obviously if they're amazing and fantastic people, I'm sure you wouldn't begrudge them dating!]
Of course 1 in 10 women can *almost* grow beards, but not very good ones. That's pretty normal.
Oh and never forget that more than a quarter of all women (more in some racial backgrounds than others), naturally show a little more noticeable facial hair. Or they would...
If people didn't make them feel like freaks.
Kinda a lot of people we're talking about here though... :S
I don't know if Tolkein had some sort of insight into this - the medical aspects haven't really been understood until now. Needless to say though, it's more common than most much more unsightly and medically detrimental conditions people are born with. In fact it's so common, it baffles brains how it could ever have been passed on to the extent that it would be so prolific today... unless it conferred some kind of genetic advantage to those who have it, or unless individuals who express such genes lend advantages in some way to the survival of the *group* - and therefore the species as a whole.
It's waaaaay more common than Cystic Fibrosis, or Sickle Cell Anaemia, and they are tied to survivability of infection with known lethal pathogens. Perhaps what provides this diversity, offers something else that has been useful to society?
Hard to say, but I think it's worth acknowledging that 'natural' and 'normal' aren't what people think they are, and I think it's worth mentioning that whether it's a full beard or just a single more-thick-than-the-rest facial hair:
Women who have this particular balance of hormones, share one severe consequence in common, that has severe medical consequences, not to mention a high risk of premature death. Oddly though, it isn't something actually caused by the balance of hormones themselves, but rather... how people and society view and treat (and don't welcome) anyone who shows they have it. The consequence all women - from the 1 in 4 to the 1 in 10 and rarer extremes of it - share... is depression.
If you're ever interested in the science of it, look up 'PCOS'. It's varied. Extremes of it deserve your compassion and understanding, but milder forms of it, may benefit from an improved level of acceptance. It'd be nice for those women - and their male equivalents - to feel safe and welcome in their own skins, instead of being labelled as 'freaks'.
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No offense, but I'm one of those people with a hormone imbalance and before this picture I hadn't really seen any dwarf women from Tolkiens world. Come to find they actually tend to look pretty especially with the beads and stuff.
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I think actually a lot of women *could* look good with beards. LoL I know it's worked in pantomime for a very long time!
Male or female hormone imbalance? You have my sympathies. I don't have it to the extreme of growing a beard (although sometimes, I bloody wish I did because then at least it might look *tidy* lol) but I have it to the '1 in 10 women' level.
That said... what I've got, is basically 'healthy normal'... but for the fact society says it's not allowed boo hiss.
Sorry if I preached to the converted - had a lot of shit roll my way for having my hormones balanced the way they are. First it was "Oh you probably don't wash enough" then it was "It's probably your diet" (which it turns out I've been self-medicating with from birth, hence why it's not 'healthy' as most people would see it) then it was "Oh you probably wash too much" but then at some point or other my bone structure developed fully and suddenly it was "We want to shag you!" as the more general rule. Talk about insulting! LoL!
The mind boggles...
Either way, whatever you have, don't let it get you down. Also, if it fucks up your fertility, or you decide that it's not worth the risk (pregnancy, or the surety that you'll pass it on), adoption *isn't* the 'second choice' that it seems the world makes it out to be. I've got something else wrong with me that nearly killed me when I got pregnant, and I had no idea I had it until that point, let alone that it was hereditary. Nice thing is: before that all happened, I'd already considered adoption.
Met too many adopted children who were more like their adoptive parents than their adoptive parents own genetic offspring to think that 'a child of my own' is anything more special. Pregnancy would be nice, if it wasn't lethal and like having cholera for nine months, but that's what it is in my case (not related to PCOS). Parenting however, is something I think I can *do*, and do well. So... I'm not giving up on that unless I absolutely have to.
[Just wish it was easier to sort out...]
Good luck with yours, sorry for the preaching!
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I simply refuse to shave anymore and Mom gave up on to make me do it.
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You know there was a girl in my class who might've had PCOS. She had *bright orange* hair, and skin as pale as snow. Her hair wasn't one to behave much (it wanted to afro all the time!) but she was one of the nicest people I'd ever known - you know just... always trying to be kind. Even when she shouldn't.
I noticed one day the sun poured through her front room window and caught the side of her face - it was like a halo. It was actually... really pretty. I remember being so jealous. She was covered in this amazingly fine, soft downy hair. I was really sad when years later I saw her, and she'd (one way or another) got rid of it. It was one of the things that just fit her persona perfectly and unlike mine, her hair was fine and lightly coloured!
Good for you anyway. At least you'll be warmer on a winter day, and slightly *less* likely to get skin cancer, too!
I wish I could do the same. Unfortunately, as mine starts to come through, it's quite firm. Not enough hairs to make anything more than just 'scruffy', and damn it drives me *nuts* once it breaks the surface. I can understand why some men shave religiously every day. [Sigh] I wish I'd never plucked the damn stuff out. I think if I'd managed to not succumb to prejudice when I was younger, I'd be able to leave it alone and live with it quite happily now. Unfortunately 'stubble' is just one thing I can't bear! I try to imagine what it'll be like one day when I can neither see or have the motor control to pull the horrid things out. LoL. I'll be in the care home yelling at the carers as I fade into senility "Pull them out! Pull them out!" ROFL!
[LoL thank god I never shaved my legs!!!!]
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Thank you! (Sorry for the late reply!)
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This is just stunning. I'm working on a Dis fanfic and I knew right where to come for my Dis. She is beautiful as befits a princess of the Line of Durin.
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Sorry about the late reply! Thank you, I'm glad you like her!
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I haven't even read the title or seen the beard and knew this is Dís. So perfect. She is beautiful <3
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Sorry for the late reply! Thank you!
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Beard or not, she's a gorgeous woman !
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Sorry for the late reply! Thank you for the lovely comment, glad you like her!
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Fabulous hair seems to run in the line of Durin.
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I can't really cope with the "Dwarf ladies have beards" but she's still awesome!!
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Haha well I'm glad you like her
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Wow, she is beautiful. And her beard frames her face perfectly!
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I'm glad you think so!
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She is beautiful! (And I agree with the numerous comments who have stated that she is very majestic!!!)
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Thank you, glad you like her!
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