Naia ōkami from Seattle, USA, is 28 years old.
At first glance, she doesn't seem to be anything special.
However, under this human shell, there is a "soul" that is completely different from ordinary people.
Because, Naia doesn't consider herself human.
She classifies herself as an orc, convinced that she is a British Columbia wolf with black fur and amber eyes on a spiritual and spiritual level, in addition to her body.
Naia's story is complicated to say.
The gender of his birth was actually male.
Around the age of 10, Naia found herself different from other children.
He often dreamed of becoming a wolf, and began to have a new understanding of himself.
Especially after watching the Japanese animation Wolf's Rain, his fascination with wolves has deepened.
He began to read a lot about wolves and study their behavior.
As Naia's knowledge of the animals grew, he became more convinced that he was not a human being, but a "wolf that dwells in a human body."
Occasionally, like a wolf, he would howl at his classmates.
However, at that time, he did not know how to define his identity.
It wasn't until he was a teenager that he was exposed to the word "orc" and this subculture, and quickly established an identity.
Unlike other children who try to hide their differences, Naia is eager to reveal her "werewolf identity" to the world.
He wears a wolf-themed necklace and furry wolf ears and tail.
Family and friends, sensing his "spiritual world," inevitably looked at him with a strange eye.
Fortunately, after a long time, they also slowly understood Naia.
However, the students in the school are not so "understanding".
Naia is often bullied because she is too ostentatious.
Growing up, Naia also reflected on what she did at the time, feeling that he had "failed to be honest with himself in the way that society is most likely to accept."
But that doesn't mean he feels there's anything wrong with "thinking of yourself as a wolf."
"I'm happy, I didn't do anything wrong."
In addition to self-identification, Naia also wants to help more people who are similar to herself and provide them with online support.
So in 2011, he founded a website called Kinmunity.com.
There are many features on the site that provide free space for other people who have doubts about their identity, and allow these users to find "kinds" who live near them.
And users are not limited to the orcs, but also include all other "non-human" individuals, such as the vampires.
To some extent, The site Naia has become a stronghold for many subcultural populations.
However, when niche culture is moved to the public, it is doomed to be bloody in public opinion.
In 2013, Naia participated in a documentary about the "foreign" subculture and appeared on television for the first time as a "wolf".
Naia thought that by revealing his "werewolf" identity to the whole country, he would be able to express himself more freely.
However, he said that he had been badly cut.
This also led to the fact that after the documentary was released, the vast majority of people failed to abandon their prejudices and listen to him.
Instead, he began to play with his ugly pictures and play with what he had said.
Original:
"I'm a wolf on any level other than physically."
(Howl)
Netizen meme:
"I'm a pig on any level other than physiologically."
(Pig barking)
As of 2020, his video footage has been viewed more than 4 million times on YouTube.
In contrast, there were countless insults and curses that invaded his social media.
Questions and misunderstandings followed.
Many people think that Naia has turned her body and mind into a wolf.
But no, Naia knew clearly that he wouldn't really turn into an animal, he was just mentally converging with wolves.
"It's just a spiritual belief."
"I don't think I'm going to be a wolf on a physical level. I know I'm human. ”
He is not much different from other ordinary people in the general direction of life.
"I walk on two legs, I have a job, I have a career. My partner is human. "
Many people may have been influenced by Naia's crazy ideas and prejudiced against him.
But in fact, he is actually a very rational person.
Naia knew quite well how she should survive as a "wolf" in this society without disturbing others.
For example, he suppresses animal instincts, does not howl in public, or engages in other behaviors similar to wolves.
"If I'm at work or going to the grocery store, I don't bark or howl."
If he really needed to release his emotions, he would run wild in the woods, howl where no one was, and act wild like a wolf, even if he didn't know the real wolf language.
Sometimes, he would party with other orc friends.
Sometimes, he would be alone, "communicating" with the beast in his heart.
In addition, he also found many ways to integrate his wolf identity into life in a way that was acceptable to the public.
For example, he would go out of his way to the comic show, because there he was free to wear wolf ears and tails without caring about other people's eyes.
Sometimes, he also spends time volunteering at wolf pack sanctuaries and connecting with animals.
However, he said he does not have that "supernatural" connection with animals. He was more like a wildlife scientist who cared for and studied them.
In short, Naia no longer completely externalizes her wolf image as she did as she did as a child. But he was still using his own way, silently maintaining the characteristics of wolves.
Naia also never felt that the spirit of the wolf had ever had any negative effect on her.
On the contrary, he felt that there were good qualities of wolves in him.
He was as loyal as a wolf in the face of his friends, family, and partners.
At work, he also feels like a protector throughout the ranks.
Of course, wolves have a loyal and brave side, but also a dangerous animalistic side.
The media has interviewed Naia on this issue.
Asked if there was sexual attraction between him and the real wolf, Naia said no.
When asked if the wolf soul in the body had thought about chasing or eating other diminutive groups while running in the woods, Naia also said no.
He knew that wolves were good at hunting, and he was sure that he did have this side in himself.
But he doesn't attack people who are weaker than himself.
Instead, the wolf's spirit motivates him to "hunt" bad people who have hurt children and animals.
Naia works as an investigator in a nonprofit organization.
One of his jobs is to investigate the perpetrators of human trafficking and track down those who have harmed animals and children.
He unleashed his wolf-like side in this job.
"I felt like a wolf hunting my prey, and my prey happened to be a human doing something bad. But I would send them to jail instead of eating them."
He saw catching the bad guys as hunting for food.
It cannot be denied that the soul of the wolf did contribute to his career.
In fact, this is not the first time that Naia has publicly responded to questions about his orcs and responded in detail to all prejudices.
Indeed, many people have changed their minds and begun to show kindness to him.
Others idolized him and painted him as a fanart.
However, there are not a few people who mock him and express their incomprehension:
"My nephew used to think he was a dinosaur, and then he grew up."
"People can believe anything they want to believe. But when they insist on having other people believe the same mistakes as they do, I draw a line with them. ”
"The world is crazy."
However, Naia, who has experienced school bullying and online violence, has learned to face all evaluations calmly.
He hit back at netizens who called him "mentally ill", and justifiably explained that he had no psychological problems.
"Mental health problems are judged by how they affect your performance in society."
"Have they affected your daily living skills?" Does it affect your professional abilities? Has it affected your relationships? As a member of the Orcs, none of this will happen. ”
He has repeatedly stressed that the identity of the wolf does not affect his life, work and relationships, and said that he no longer cares about the nasty remarks.
"There are many reasons to hate a person. If you hate me because I'm direct, I say something offensive to you, or do something wrong, then that's a legitimate reason not to like me. ”
"But if you just don't like me because of an identity, or a trait that doesn't hurt you or someone else, then really, I don't need you in my life." ”
There are many people who feel that Naia's insistence on being a werewolf is only to gain eyeballs or develop her own "believers".
However, he is more looking for a sense of identity.
Because of this, he not only turned into a wolf, but also came out publicly in June 2017, changed his gender, and changed from "he" to "she".
In Naia's view, her gender and the identity of the wolf are two completely different things.
Everything she does is to follow her heart and realize her true self.
Fortunately, although netizens have mixed opinions about her, her friends and partners have shown enough respect for her.
In the future, Naia does not intend to completely eliminate the stereotypes of others, she just hopes that with her own efforts, she can make society understand the group to which she belongs.