Popular Culture Review Vol. 11, No. 1, February 2000 | Page 135

The X -M e n ’s Storm

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as a reified object of desire, her cultural otherness provokes a discussion of American
norms. Storm is swimming in the pool outside the Xavier mansion, but unlike the
other members of the team she prefers to swim in the nude. She sees absolutely
nothing wrong with this decision, but the male members of the team react with
shock, embarrassment, and appreciation. Xavier, the paternalistic leader of the XMen, tells Storm, “What may be customary in your own land, Ororo, is not in this
one” {Classic X-Men 4, 10). Storm dons a shirt to restore decency, but only
understands it as some strange custom of this new land. The really important part
of this passage lies in the fact that Storm is clearly marked as different. In a
discussion o f what distinguishes pornography from other forms o f female
representation, Kathy Myers suggests that the typical “mode of address” for
pornography is “invitational” (266). Storm’s indifference to her own nudity is the
polar opposite of a sexual invitation, either within the text or towards the audience.
Another fe