Mermaiding: Fantasy vs athleticism

[Princess Kae-Leah]

I was telling my best friend ForsakenMermaid about how when I first joined this forum it was honestly kind of a toxic influence in my life because it made me feel very insecure about my lack of swimming ability, an insecurity that spiraled way out of control into an extremely unhealthy mindset where I needed constant validation that I wasn't a lesser "mer" because I couldn't swim. My always-insightful bestie pointed out that I'm drawn to mermaids as a fantasy, while those who do it professionally are athletes, and in her smart-as-usual words "there's nothing fantastical about sports", heh. She suggested I might've been happier joining a forum like LittleAriel, a Disney TLM fan forum, instead of an athletically-oriented forum. So I guess when it comes to mermaiding-related activities, you can kind of split them into two categories: fantasy and athleticism.
Fantasy-dressing up and doing mermaid photo shoots, consuming mer-related media, mermaid meditation, basically anything mermaid-related that's focused on the fantasy of imagining merfolk and requires no athletic ability
Athleticism-swimming, diving, breath-holding, etc., in tail
This got me curious as to make a poll of sorts which side of the coin you learn on. Are you here in the mer-fandom more because you like the fantasy of mermaids or because you like tail-swimming as a water sport? Which one do you feel this forum caters more too?

[MermaidCelesteFL]

To be honest, I'm more on the athleticism-side of the mer-fandom. Because of my actual name, I have despised mermaids for a good portion of my life. But that's only because of the unrelenting teasing from pretty much anyone who has ever seen my name. I have nothing against people who enjoy mermaid movies or TV shows, but I personally do it because I just REALLY love swimming.

To be honest, I got into mermaiding, because I got into FFX- because I love swimming. I just happened to discover that I could be a really good mermaid with all of those years of swim team, lifeguarding, and water polo under my belt.

[ForsakenMermaid]

I would play off the assumption that most professional mermaids are athletes and most fans of professional mermaids (people who actively attend shows and hire professionals or attend their events) are fantasy geeks. Of course, there are some people who rest somewhere in the middle, like Traci Hines, who makes a living off her Ariel obsession by dressing up at kids' parties without going in the water, selling mermaid-themed clothing for land on her online Adorkable Apparel store, modeling, and shooting music videos.

[Princess Kae-Leah]

I suppose for myself and some other mers, there's a third aspect to their mermaiding fandom, and that's environmentalism. I personally find Hannah Fraser's passion for the environment and animals even more inspiring than her swimming skills. Not all mers are environmentalists, but I think as metaphors go, a mermaid is a good one to represent humanity coming together with animals and nature, and for me a big part of why I love the fantasy of mermaids so much is in Disney's The Little Mermaid and some other mermaid media, merfolk can speak to sea creatures as equals, which is a wonderful thing to imagine if you're an animal lover and/or vegetarian like me. However, that aspect can be very divisive as not all mers, whether they are skilled swimmers or not, have strong feelings about the environment and animals. I try my best not to constantly throw my beliefs in other's faces as I know it's not everyone's cup of seaweed tea, and when I do promote environmentalism, I try for it to not be a militant, all-or-nothing "go vegetarian now or else!" message, but an inclusive message that encourages others to make easy small lifestyle changes that might have an impact in the long run, such as celebrating Meatless Mondays and eating vegetarian once a week or using reusable shopping bags. Well I guess there's nothing like having a best friend who, for all the other things we have in common/agree about, isn't really into the green movement can calm your fiery, militant spirit down a bit ;)

[The Nerdmaid]

I got into mermaiding precisely because it was a combination of fantasy and fitness. I like both individually, so it's really nice to have a hobby that blends the two. I used to do competitive swimming and instructing, and while I enjoyed it a lot, like your friend said, theres not a lot of "fantastical" in most sports.

And then there's the maker aspect of it. Tail and accessory making combines both sewing based based costume skills and sculpting/prosthetics. Professionally these are usually separate industries but I dabble in both and the combo always seemed to make sense to me.

As for the forum I've found it to be a pretty even balance of both athletics and fantasy. I do think a lot of discussions that focus on the fantasy side operate under the assumption that those ideas will be used in an athletic context. So I can definitely understand non-swimming mers being frustrated by that.

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[Princess Kae-Leah]

Thanks for your response, The Nerdmaid <3! I really discussed this with my friend a lot last night. I pointed out how I kinda envy the way faery fandom can have discussions about costumes without any athletic ability being expected and I also love to cosplay an anime character who's a skilled swordfighter and all-around athlete but no one cares that I don't possess those skills in real life, but she pointed out in turn that you can't walk in a mermaid tail(usually), but you can walk in fairy wings, and mermaiding has become such a popular(relatively speaking, considering the nature of it it's still pretty niche) recreational sport lately that I guess ultimately it's one of those "majority rules" kinda things. Because most, though by no means all, people who buy mertails are interested in swimming in them, that's what the majority of discussions are about, and what most meetup events center around. It's not my intention to discourage people from enjoying swimming, in or out of your tails, and obviously it's a topic where a lot of discussion and sharing of tips is very helpful. Still...I will never, ever forget how insecure being surrounded by skilled swimmers when I first joined up here 5 years ago. Perhaps the market for non-swimming-oriented mermaid discussion just isn't there to the degree it is for the athletes, but it would be nice to see more of a balance on here, though I'd like to think my presence here as a very prolific poster helps tip those scales. I just posted a thread about my mermaid meditation that I really hope would be an example of how I use my tail in a way that may be different than most other tail owners, but hopefully is just as fun and meaningful in its own way. I told my friend that I want to be like the Paralympian of mermaiding: I do things a little differently due to my lack of ability, but I hope I still do it with dignity and in a way that inspires others.

[Mermaid Alea]

I can't really remember how I first found Mernetwork and how I learned of mermaiding, but like most of us I grew up watching Ariel, etc. In the pool my friends and I would pretend to be merfolk. The idea of swimming as a mermaid was intriguing to me yes, and when I first swam as one it was more real and exhilarating feeling than I had imagined. The hole mermaid swimming thing is a fun way for me to get exercise and challenge myself to improve my health.

Aside from the swimming though, I find a lot of magic in the reactions you get from people. Not only when you are in your tail, but just when you mention to people that you are a mermaid. I feel like it has a magical air to it. When I am in my tail and a little kid walks up with wide eyes and wants to touch my fluke, I can't help but feel like a magical creature and I like to think that it gave them a memory that they won't forget just like I remember going to Weeki Wachee as a little girl and getting to sit in a mermaid's lap! In or out of the water if my tail is on it feels like a magical moment.



And then there's the maker aspect of it. Tail and accessory making combines both sewing based based costume skills and sculpting/prosthetics.


This is a good point because most of the mers in the Merfolk community are very crafty people. Mermaiding can give an artist endless amounts of inspiration. The tails themselves are art, but the accessories are too. We are constantly admiring the artistry of our fellow mers be it the professional tail makers or the newbie who made a dazzling fabric tail. Sometimes all I want to do is make another fabric tail. My current one is still very usable, but my mind is always thinking up tail designs and materials. My sketchbook has a few pages with maybe 30 tail designs per page. My love for mermaiding has even affected some artists around me. My friend now has mermaid doodles that she did on the front of her sketchbook and she now does more aquatic themed art. I find mermaiding very inspirational for art.

While I like swimming as a mermaid, I really don't get many chances to. I hardly get to swim as a mermaid even once a month. There are so many factors that make it hard: Schoolwork, weather, someone to watch you for safety reasons, etc. Maybe that is why it seems like everyone is focused on the physical aspect of mermaiding. I can't speak for everymer, but I figure there are more out there who can't swim as often as they would like to and thus they live vicariously through talking about swimming, watching swimming videos, looking up underwater photos, etc. I also think not everyone wants to admit how little they actually get to swim as a mer. That or we just don't talk about it. Some mers might only check in on Mernetwork after they have had a good swim and have photos and/or video to share from that experience so it makes you assume that they must swim a lot. The other day I was feeling down and wondered if I could be Hannah Fraser for the day what it would be like. Then I started thinking that really, it probably would just be a simple, nothing special day. Seeing photos and videos of Hannah swimming as a mermaid is just a portion of her life. She isn't always in the water or at some exotic locale.

Anyways, I find mermaiding to be a combination of a lot of things and while the athletic part might draw a lot of people in, the fantasy and artistic aspect really make mermaiding extra special and fun even if you can't swim. ;)

[Princess Kae-Leah]

Wow, thanks for the insightful response! I'm so glad to see I'm not the only one in the world who does novel-length forum posts heh ;)

[Amphitrite]

I'm the absolute least athletic person ever. I am also brain injured. I am also, in many ways a mermaid. I prefer deep conversation. I posite that since my brain injury causes me to deal with intense emotions frequently as well as becoming overstimulated by my environment, I find the water very soothing because it is all the same. *laughs at silliness* I guess it's kind of a relief when I'm in the water because I feel like I have this control, this power over my body that is liberating and relaxing. When I'm in the water wearing my monofin I feel a whole lot more real than at any other time. I didn't get to swim today and wont be able to at all this weekend either. I haven't quite figured out how I'll manage it, but... *shrugs helplessly*

[Takahao]

For me it's a bit of both, I love stories about selkies and such, and the Percy Jackson series for Percy's cool water powers. I'm into th swimming part, but I need a pool for that, which I won't have for a bit, likely. I might be able to get away with a monofin in the future, being the slightly crazed eccentric member of my family.