In the article, Queer Cyborgs and New Mutants: Race, Sexuality, and Prosthetic Sociality in Digital Space, Mimi Nguyen analyzes the dialectic relationship between organic bodies and technologies in society by conducting an intersectional analysis. Specifically, Nguyen utilizes a narrative about Karma, a mutant who was a Vietnamese war refugee with the ability to “seize control of other peoples mind and bodies” (Nguyen 38). Nguyen, also of Vietnamese descent, use this first-personal narrative to not only relate herself to Karma, but to also humanize the subject at hand.
Nguyen exhorts that being a cyborg or mutant is considered to be the ‘other’ in society. She claims that al though these mutants were brought together to fight evil mutants, these “New Mutants are nonetheless viewed with fear and suspicion by the non-mutant population” (Nguyen 374). These cyborgs and mutants are characterized as outsiders because their bodies are subjected to specific stereotypes that do not fit in the overwhelmingly “normal” society. Nguyen continues to say, “in these science fictions mutant bodies and cyborg bodies are analogized as minoritarian bodies, subjected and subjugated…” (377). Relating back to class discussion, these bodies are actually constructing the space around them. Since these mutants are so different and are being put in a space where they are considered to be the “other,” a majority believes it is there duty to remove them from that space. Even with their unique powers and experiences, they are considered to be the inferior class, and unfortunately in Karmas case, “her genetic mutation does now allow [her] unusual access to freedoms” (Nguyen 374). In Karmas world, being unique does not justify any extra freedoms. To be accepted, you have to adapt. This recurring idea of outcasts in popular culture emphasizes the unified narratives and subjectivities the majority always has over the minority. Our class discussion about immigrants relates to the situation Karma is in because they are forced to either accommodate or assimilate to the popular culture. Some would argue that these cyborgs and mutants are protecting the regular humans, but their differences far outweigh their unique abilities in the eyes of the majority. In his article, The Tyranny of The Melting Pot Metaphor: Wonder Woman as an Americanized Immigrant, Matthew Smith argues that “in the process of mixing, immigrants find that as their culture melts away, it is replaced by an unaffected "American" culture…” (Smith 129). Karma in this situation would be considered an immigrant into this “normal society” and is forced to “pass for human or risk being the object of fear and hostility” (Nguyen 374). In the series Astonishing X-Men, Joss Whedon utilizes the mutants in X-Men to display the dialectic between these mutants and normal society. The mutants in X-men are considered to be these outsiders whose home is secluded to a school separate from regular people. This specific series reveals that a cure has been made to eradicate the “mutant disease,” which causes a multitude of reactions from different mutants. Just as Karma was treated in Nguyen’s article, the X-Men mutants are considered to be minoritarian bodies that are occupying a space, which many believe, they do not belong in. The regular people in society are afraid of their unique abilities, and since they are unable to accept it, they simply wish to eradicate the problem in its entirety. Wheadon’s argument through these comic books is to display the ongoing tension not only amongst regular humans and mutants, but also between mutants themselves. The mere fact that these mutant bodies are portrayed to be in an outsiders space makes them believe they have to adapt into society rather than just be themselves. This constant pressure of adapting is why many mutants are so willing to try the cure because they rather just feel welcome into their space, and not have to feel like they need to fight for it. This construction of our self-identity is based on the space that our bodies occupy. For instance, as students in a classroom, we act and behave very differently in a classroom then we do outside a classroom. Specific spaces request specific etiquette, however mutants are unable to find the balance because of their fundamental differences from the rest of society.