#Part One of 'Why Noriko is misunderstood'...

[newx-menfan]

(I wanted to do a Three Part post about Surge-Noriko Ashida; because much like Julian, Noriko is often heavily criticized by readers. Those two characters tend to be the ones that come under fire the most by fandom…)

Part One: Surge in DeFilippis and Weir

Out of all the New X-Men Surge is probably the most mysterious; because where we get a pretty clear picture of the other X-Kids lives BEFORE becoming a mutant, Nori doesn’t really talk much about her past life…

We know Noriko was born in Japan and was very close to her brother Keitaro. Her powers manifested when she was thirteen and she managed to immigrate on HER OWN from Japan to America, since her father rejected her.

That takes some pretty big balls in my opinion! To immigrate at thirteen, ALONE, to a country that’s both very different in culture and language. Yet, Noriko manages to survive on her own.

Noriko DOES accurately represent homelessness, in the fact that almost 34% of the homeless in the United States are under 24, according to HUD’s 2014 Point in Time Report. 80% of homeless youth (age 12 to 21) use drugs or alcohol as a means to self medicate. (Studies on homelessness CAN be really difficult to do, because homelessness tends to be a temporary circumstance, there’s less push for these kinds of studies in the psychological and sociological communities, and because of the stigma around this issue…) Noriko story also touches on the fact that MANY illegal immigrants come to the United States to escape circumstances such as abuse, poverty, political or economical upheaval in their home country, persecution for their identity, ect…

She ends up stealing and using pills (never specified what they were) to control her powers, by sedating her body enough to control the outbursts of electrical power.

The one attempt to reach out for help by going to Xavier’s goes horribly wrong, when she runs into Julian; who at the time has issues with classism and a prejudice around homelessness. (In Julian’s defense- American culture does cultivate this narrative that the poor are somehow at fault for their own poverty heavily. This ties back into the American Dream being represented as widely attainable and America being represented as ‘not having a class system’. We have essentially gaslit the poor into believing they are at fault for their own poverty, instead of admitting that our social systems are inadequate and structured in a way to promote some groups more than others. This ends up being a learning moment for Julian…).

This experience validates Nori’s beliefs that people will NOT provide any kind of help, that the only person she can rely on is herself; so she decides to do what she knows will work-steal and self medicate with drugs. (It also leads to Julian and Noriko having bad blood for a period of time until the Nimrod battle).

Nori accidentally hits ‘the Grind Stone’ coffee shop owner with an electric bolt when robbing the store, and fearing that if she reports it she will end up imprisoned, (keep in mind Noriko is homeless, most likely an illegal immigrant, a person of color, a drug addict, a mutant, and she was actively committing a crime- so she’s probably right in her assumption that she’s not going to get treated sympathetically at all by the justice system…) so she takes the money and runs.

Josh remembers seeing Noriko asking for help and hanging around the Grind Stone, and puts two and two together. Josh convinces the other students to track down Nori; and when they find her Noriko looses control over her abilities, and the students bring Noriko back to the mansion.

Even pre M-Day; the X-Men aren’t all that sympathetic to Noriko. Beast essentially tells her you can either wear the gauntlets I designed for you or get out, where you’ll essentially be put in jail. The only people Noriko really connects with are Cyclops and Dani Moonstar; I’ll come back to this when talking about Kyle/Yost’s run…

David is the other person who tries to connect with Noriko; and while David MEANS well, there are moments that he does come off a little condescending. While David has absolutely faced racism, David has also grown up in a middle to upper class caring family in Chicago; leaving him somewhat struggling to understand Noriko’s experience with homelessness.

While David IS a really great person, he does sometimes struggle with socialization, empathizing, and accepting that people MAKE MISTAKES . This makes sense, because David looks at things from a more logical than emotional place; David DOESN’T DO gut feelings. It’s why the dream around his powers scares him so much, because LOGICALLY it could happen and David knows he prioritizes knowledge. It’s also why Sofia ends up being co-leader of the New Mutants, because David just isn’t very good with understanding the emotional side of things and needs Sofia to handle that side of leadership.

Noriko chooses to stay at the school and takes responsibility of her actions by working at the Grind Stone. This is a common theme with Noriko; no matter what mistakes she makes, she always takes full responsibility for them. She also slowly becomes friends with her fellow teammates.

Noriko’s role on the team in this book was always secondary; in the fact that she had no interest in being leader. She’s perfectly fine with Wind Dancer and Prodigy taking up that responsibility. Noriko acknowledges that her personality ISN’T a good fit for leadership. (This will become important later).

This makes sense, since Noriko is very independent; she doesn’t like to feel like a burden to others and sees herself as ultimately the only person she can rely on. This is because for a long period of time, that WAS true: Noriko had to rely on herself for all care.The idea of working as a team and supporting each other is an extremely foreign concept for her, because her survival for years relied on focusing on the baser needs (food and shelter over emotional health and building emotional connections) and her being her own support system. Essentially, it’s Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; if you’re Physical needs are unmet or inconsistently there day to day, you’re not going to be as focused on needs around Social, Ego, or Self Actualization.

Noriko HAS a tendency to lash out at others; this is used as a defense mechanism-shun others before they shun you. This comes up every time Nori feels threatened or insecure; she’ll lash out or get defensive at the person SHE VIEWS as attacking her.

One of the big complaints people bring up with Noriko is her interaction with Dust; and yes, Noriko’s views ARE problematic.

But no one is born out of the womb a perfect feminist; because we live in a patriarchal society, we all subconsciously take in problematic views that we may need to deconstruct LATER.

This series was written in the 2000’s, when the Iraq war was in full swing and Islamophobic propaganda permeated the news; one of the favorite narratives was ‘their women are oppressed, our women are fine!’ The fact that DeFilippis and Weir subtly commented on the problems with this narrative, IS pretty DAMN impressive, in my opinion.

The truth is, is many teenagers when starting to learn about feminism, START OUT with problematic views. It’s only when they start to learn more about intersectional feminism, that they start seeing the problems with feminism fixating on western culture being the ‘correct way’ and essentially what’s been labeled as 'White Feminism’ (Feminism from the lens of White, Upper Class, Heterosexual, Cis Gendered Women- often times ignoring other POVs and avoidance in addressing the issues around white privilege). Noriko MAY have internalized a lot of these beliefs.

There’s also a possibility that Noriko had faced harassment while living on the streets on her own; 92% of homeless women reported severe physical and/or sexual violence at some point of their in their lives for example, in a 1997 study. In a survey of homeless youth between ages 13 and 21, 23% of women had experienced sexual victimization on at least one occasion since being on the street, in a 2004 study.

While Sooraya is simply trying to explain her side, this could be bringing up memories for Noriko and an internalized belief that IF something happened, it was somehow her fault. As previously stated; Noriko’s feminism has it’s problems, so internalized victim blaming COULD be part of that.

Nori does kind of apologize in her own way, and while still coming off as crass; does accept that her and Sooyara have different beliefs and that both are valid.

Another complaint lodged at Nori is her reaction to Jay’s suicide; and yes, suicide and mental illness is heavily stigmatized. Nori DOES react badly to his admission, which can have negative affects for the survivor of a suicide attempt.

Nori handled this BADLY, but you can understand why. From Noriko’s point of view- Jay comes from a loving family that accepts him mutation and supports him. While her opinion IS invalidating Jay’s experience around depression and that’s not okay; Jay has things Nori didn’t in her own life (Jay also kinds of invalidates Nori’s experiences as well, by saying things like “You wouldn’t understand”, when Nori herself comes from a background of trauma…). Essentially what is coming up is jealousy.

Noriko and Jay later talk it out, and understand that their reactions in this conversation came from trauma; Nori from being homeless and rejected by her family, and Jay from losing his girlfriend and not being able to cope, and from the stigma that comes from being a survivor of a suicide attempt.

They also notice things disappearing/moving on their own in the school. This turns out to be a dead X-student named Jeffery. Surge bonds with Jeffery, partially because he reminds her of her younger brother and partially because she can relate to the child’s anger at his situation. This is one of the examples that despite Noriko’s tough persona, lies someone deeply hurting inside.

Another example, is her reaction to David’s little sister, Kim. Noriko deeply wants Kim to like her, because Noriko likes David. It’s one of the few times Nori goes OUT OF HER WAY to get someone to like her, and is deeply hurt when she is rejected.

Throughout Noriko’s childhood she has been rejected by her parents and other people she turned to for help. David is the only person to genuinely show concern for her (this will be REALLY important later….)

So while Noriko does HAVE problematic views in this series, a lot of it traces back to Noriko’s history being homeless. Nori is in my opinion, a character who gets unfairly hated on for simply struggling to get close emotionally to others, because she’s been repeatedly hurt in the past…

(I’ll post my sources at the end together, like I did with the post around Julian and disability.)

Next is Part Two: Surge in Kyle and Yost, which will be posted either today or Wednesday!

[agirlinjapan]

Red Data Girl: World Heritage Girl (Week 21)

Red Data Girl: World Heritage Girl By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

These past two weeks have been really long for me. Working full time as a student teacher and then going to classes 3-4 times a week on top of that is a lot to handle. But I’m doing it! I even managed to find some translating time this weekend, something I haven’t had in a while. Hopefully I’ll be able to find some during this upcoming week too!

Red Data Girl: World Heritage Girl By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 3: Manifestation Part 3 (1 of 2)

It was the middle of the night on Sunday.

Despite it being past the dorm’s eleven o’clock lights out, Mayura was lying in bed, surfing the web on her cellphone. She knew the morning would be tough for her because she was doing this but she couldn’t stop flipping from site to site.

Izumiko was generally asleep by lights out. She got up early in the morning to wash and rebraid her hair. They had gotten used to each other’s habits by now. Tonight though, Mayura suddenly felt a strong surge of concern for her roommate. She pulled her earphones off her head.

Mayura had been worried about Izumiko since yesterday. The girl had been acting strangely lately.

Pushing the curtain around her bed open an inch, she looked down at the room from her top bunk. Izumiko was standing motionless in the darkness, staring out the window in her pajamas. Her shadow cut through the dim light coming in from outside.

“What’s wrong?”

Although Mayura had asked a question, there was no answer. There was something off about this situation. No matter what was going on, Izumiko would never ignore the people around her. She was the sort of girl who would answer anything.

Mayura quickly climbed down from her bed. Approaching her roommate, she very carefully placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Talk to me, Izumiko. You were acting strange this evening, too. I didn’t think I should say anything but… Is there something I can do?”

A slight shiver came from Izumiko’s small shoulder.    

“Hey, it’s okay to vent sometimes. Tell me what’s going on. You should let me know if something’s upsetting you. I want to help.”

Izumiko finally answered. “Mayura, I don’t know what to do anymore…” Her voice was quiet.

“I knew it. Was the kimono demonstration really hard for you?” Mayura asked, assuming the reason for Izumiko’s turmoil. She had thought it would be a difficult burden for shy Izumiko to bear. “You didn’t want to do it, didn’t you.”

“He saw me,” Izumiko answered in a murmur. “Sagara…”

Mayura blinked in surprise. She had misunderstood something.

“You shouldn’t get all worked up just because he saw you like that. It’s not cute to act that way. But he is attractive. You’re not the only one who thinks that.”

Izumiko shook her head forcefully. So it wasn’t that. Mayura tried asking about what was worrying her.

“You ran into Sagara after the lecture, right? Was he meeting someone?”

Izumiko shook her head again.

“So the two of you went somewhere.”

“…to the ruins of Hachioji Castle…”

“You went there again. And it was just you and Sagara? Was Sagara the one who suggested it?” Mayura’s tone was one of amazement. “Seriously? I never would have guessed he was interested in haunted places and ghosts.”

“It wasn’t like that…”

Izumiko sounded troubled as if she had gone through some sort of shock.

“I was a vengeful spirit. I alone was the last vengeful spirit left at the ruins. That’s what Sagara said…”

“Hang in there, Izumiko. What happened?” Mayura’s hand was still on Izumiko’s shoulder so she gave her a little shake. “Did you have a bad dream? Are you a little out of touch with reality right now?”

“It really happened.”

For the first time that night, Izumiko turned and looked seriously at Mayura. The light from outside reflected in her shining, black eyes.

“I didn’t want to remember it at all for the longest time. I didn’t want to think about myself being something like that. But I know there’s no point in that now.”

The light in her eyes wavered for a moment and then tears began to roll down her cheeks.

“Even Sagara was scared. I was an enemy to humankind…”

The tears were flowing faster from her eyes now. She sat down.

“…I wasn’t myself before. Even though my hair was braided, she came out like it was nothing. I don’t know any other way to stop her.”

Mayura still couldn’t understand what Izumiko was saying but the girl was clearly upset and she felt horrible for her. She quickly pulled her into her arms. Izumiko only began to cry harder. She crumpled until she was sitting on the floor. Mayura went with her, her arms still around her friend. They sat there in the dark room in their pajamas. It was a while before Izumiko could speak again.

“I’m sorry… You were already sleeping…”

She was still sobbing convulsively but she was beginning to be able to think about her friend’s feelings. Mayura was tearing up as well at this point but that was most likely due to holding Izumiko as she cried.

“I wasn’t asleep yet. You know I stay up late. And I wouldn’t mind staying up with you all night if you need it. You’re not yourself tonight.”

“Thank you. You’re so nice, Mayura…”

Izumiko’s body shook as she took a deep breath. Then after a moment of silence she said embarrassedly, “No one’s really held me like this before… It feels nice. My parents and my grandpa and Sawa aren’t the kind of people who hug a lot. I’ve been jealous of you and your family.”

“Right, you’re an only child.” Mayura smiled. “When we cry, my siblings and I hug each other. It’s how we were raised.”

“People’s bodies are so warm… You’re warm too, Mayura.”

“Have you calmed down a little?”

When Izumiko nodded, Mayura said, “From the first time I met you, I thought you were so strong. Later on I heard you’d been raised at a shrine and there were a lot of things you couldn’t do but that didn’t matter. There was just something about you. You’re shy and you get lonely easily but you care more about others than yourself.”

“That’s probably true…” Izumiko said uncertainly. “I think Masumi’s lonely too.”

“And he’d never admit it but it would bother him if he knew anyone had noticed that.” Mayura continued. “You’re always so strict with yourself and because of that, I think you can do anything you put your mind to. Still, we go to bed and wake up in the same room. I know there’s nothing more important going on here than you just braiding your hair. All of this has something to do with it being unbraided, doesn’t it? You’ve said before that you’ve always kept it in braids.”

Izumiko nodded and then took a deep breath. Resolutely, she began to speak.

“Mayura, I couldn’t talk about this at all until now but I’m going to tell you something about myself. I am vessel for a goddess who takes over my body. While the goddess possesses me, I can’t remember what I do and it takes me a while to regain those memories.”

Mayura didn’t seem that surprised. Having grown up in the world of magic, there probably wasn’t much she hadn’t heard before.  

“I knew there were people who could use spiritual powers like that. They’re called spirit mediums. Is it always the same goddess for you? Where is the goddess enshrined?”

“Nobody knows anything about her. The only thing I’ve heard is that she’s worshipped all over every sacred mountain.”

“So she’s a sovereign goddess.”

“Uh… What do you mean by sovereign?”

Mayura closed her eyes with a snap.

“Now that you mention it, I did think the things that happened in Togakushi were strange. In the end you saved Manatsu even when Masumi didn’t want you to. And your run in with the Nine Headed Dragon God ended without anything really happening. Could all of that have been because your goddess controls that sacred mountain?”

Izumiko had no idea.

“I wasn’t possessed then. Truthfully, my mother came and saved us. Being a vessel runs in her family. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about this until now.”

“I’ve been too busy with Manatsu to think about you and the others lately so we’re even. I think I understand what you’re going through a little now…”

After dwelling on this thought for a moment, Mayura continued.

“Up until now, I thought it was weird that Sagara dove into the other dimension like he knew exactly what was going on. There was no time to spare so why did he come find me? But now one thing I do get is that he’s deeply involved with your goddess, too.”

“He got dragged into this… against his will. That’s what he says,” Izumiko murmured.

Mayura quickly unwound her arms from around the other girl so as to get a better look at her face. Her eyes were used to the darkness by now. She gazed at her friend.

“I thought Sagara was doing this because he wanted to but is that really the way it is?”

With her eyes still downcast, Izumiko spoke again.

“…It seems like the goddess has chosen Sagara.”

“But isn’t that a good thing? She’s an important goddess in asceticism, right?” Her tone was dry but she spoke candidly. “Sagara’s problems sure are weird. I don’t really see this as a problem. As an observer, I think he’s kind of making this into a bigger deal than it really is.”

Unfortunately, none of this was brightening Izumiko’s mood. Her head only hung lower and lower.

“…You’re probably right. I don’t think Sagara thinks having the goddess like him is so bad. I understand that now.” Her voice was subdued. “Maybe he likes the goddess. Maybe he’s liked her a little more each time he’s met her. But she’s not me. She has nothing to do with me…”

Her voice began to shake and she was sure she would begin to cry again.

“Is this why I’m so upset? I’ve still never had a boyfriend. And even so, the goddess—the part of me I don’t know—is possessing me and spending time with Miyuki. She’s holding Miyuki’s hand and gazing into his eyes and—”

“Stop. Stop,” Mayura said, disconcerted. She wrapped her arms around Izumiko again. “You don’t have to say anything else. I get it. As a girl, this sort of stuff is a big deal and it feels like it’s unbearable. I really know that.”

Izumiko began to cry again. But the tears subsided faster than they had before.

After a few gasping breaths she said, “…I think… the goddess is… a bad woman. She made me uncomfortable before but now I hate her. I wonder why something so inhuman has lived in the Suzuhara bloodline for so long…”

“Izumiko… If that’s the case, do you see the goddess as a threat to you?” she asked, sounding unsure. “Are you saying she’s your natural enemy?”

“It’s just that it’s the goddess’s fault that my life is so messed up. Until now… up until now… I’m a first year in high school and I still haven’t found someone I like! I’m sure she’s made life hard for all of my ancestors too! I bet they missed out on life experiences because of her as well!” Izumiko complained, releasing her indignation. Her voice was loud for such a usually quiet girl.

“But you’re more powerful than we even know because of the goddess,” Mayura pointed out. “Is there some type of middle ground way of seeing this? Sagara might have taken the goddess’s hand but it was your hand too. So won’t that turn into your experience?”

Izumiko shook her head.

“It won’t. She’s messed too much up and now those memories will be bad ones. Now I can’t stop thinking about Miyuki going off somewhere with the goddess. When he did that, it was like he was saying he doesn’t care about me.”

“I doubt that’s what Sagara meant,” Mayura said in an attempt to keep the peace but Izumiko wouldn’t accept it. She sighed deeply.

“You don’t get how I feel either, Mayura. I don’t know anyone else who’s as close to spirits as you. You aren’t the same person as Masumi though. All the same, you still have him and he’s important to you. You’re different from someone like me who doesn’t have anyone…”

Mayura was inwardly shocked. She took a deep breath just as Izumiko had.

“…I was destined to be born as a triplet so I can’t say what you said is wrong. But all the same, people have imagination and so I think they’re capable of understanding what other people are going through even when they see things from another perspective. When you’re hurting, Izumiko, I want to understand what’s hurting you.”

“I’m sorry… I said too much.”

“Don’t just apologize. Instead of apologizing you should figure out what’s really going on.”

Izumiko understood what Mayura was saying.

“…Everyone keeps telling me that I need to keep this a secret, but I’m glad I told you, Mayura. I don’t think I’ll regret it. I wanted to tell you sometime. We’re roommates and I can be myself around you. Even if I became the goddess and I wasn’t myself, I don’t think you’d be scared of me.”

“Yeah. Or at least less scared than a normal person.”

Izumiko took a deep breath and said, “I can’t make up my mind about the goddess. If you ever meet her, will you tell her how I feel?”

“Sure. I owe you a lot. I’ll definitely pay you back for all you’ve done for me.”

Hearing Mayura’s confident response, Izumiko began to feel a little better. She finally climbed back into bed and drifted off to sleep.

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