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Thread: Public Swimming Anxieties

  1. #21
    I’m jealous my pool only allows fins but no mono fin. Not to mention everyone in my town calls me girly and modern southern culture here is like you want to be a merman!no way in shell. My parents are getting a pool built for the house anyway but still. I basically have to wait till I move to really use a tail and it kills me.
    Last edited by Natametfin; 01-14-2018 at 05:56 PM. Reason: Just changed my mind

  2. #22
    Senior Member Pod of The South Slim's Avatar
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    Not to sound crazy but did you ask or did you actually show them what a monofin is? The average person doesn't know what a monofin is and will say no simply because they never heard of it. Just bring the monofin even if they tell you no. You don't have to use it but they'll at least see what it is. Once a place is used of you, the lifeguard are likely to change their minds eventually knowing that you are a non worry.
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  3. #23
    Thanks slim I asked over the phone my bad lol I’ll bring it in and see how it goes

  4. #24
    Senior Member Pod of Cali Merman Storm's Avatar
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    Pools seem to vary widely in their rules. The closest one to me for awhile said "no tails". With help, I talked them into allowing tails during lap swimming. But during free swimming, no pool toy, fin, float, or anything other than coast guard approved flotation device is allowed.

    At a another pool where we've had some meets, monofins are not allowed during lane swimming, but are fine during free swim. In fact, at one meet a lifeguard showed up with her purple FinFun.
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  5. #25
    I tend to really like the people who swim at the college pool I go to. Everyone is so focused on doing serious swim training or general aerobic exercise and I'm over in my lane blowing bubble rings and bubble hearts and doing tail slaps. I am pretty sure most of them are so focused that they don't realize there is a mermaid in the pool.
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  6. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by Mermaid Alea View Post
    I tend to really like the people who swim at the college pool I go to. Everyone is so focused on doing serious swim training or general aerobic exercise and I'm over in my lane blowing bubble rings and bubble hearts and doing tail slaps. I am pretty sure most of them are so focused that they don't realize there is a mermaid in the pool.
    Haha yes! That's us! Usually we're so busy dying, the only thing we're paying attention to is the clock so our coach won't yell at us for leaving late! If someone does notice you, I'm sure seeing a mermaid would make them smile and envy getting to swim leisurely. I know I would!
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  7. #27
    Senior Member Undisclosed Pod Seaspray Mermaid's Avatar
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    Just did my first pool swim recently, I was so scared lol. I just popped my tail over my one piece and knocked out laps like it was the most natural thing in the world. It helped that there was only one person in the pool and it was midnight lol.
    Why blend in when you were so obviously destined to stand out?

  8. #28
    Member Pod of Oceania Mermaid Salty's Avatar
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    I use a mahina monofin in public frequently and have had overwhelmingly positive responses. The first and only slightly negative thing that has ever happened (just last weekend) was from a young man - one of his friends commented that "the thing was cool" and he said "Yeah, until someone drowns". I told him "Monofins have been used for 100 years and no one has ever drowned". The same day. I had kids yeling "YAY MERMAID TAIL" from the shore and another kid in a chairlift above the basin I was swimming in yell "I SEE A DOLPHIN!" haha. Yes yes yes to being mistaken for a dolphin. People are more curious than anything, in my experience.

  9. #29
    Senior Member Chesapeake Pod Merman Dan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mermaid Alea View Post
    ...and I'm over in my lane blowing bubble rings and bubble hearts and doing tail slaps.
    Mermaids do not swim laps like muggles do.
    (Formerly known as Æolius)

  10. #30
    I'm super nervous about this too! I've only swam in my monofin at the pool once, but nobody even batted an eye. I don't think you could even tell I was using it underwater. Next time I'm going to break the ice with my full tail.. I'm hoping no one will pay attention, like last time. I think once I get into the water it'll be like anything else, I probably won't think twice about it after that! I've swam in my full tail at a lake before, with a crowded beach and no one seemed to pay attention or care, except a little girl who kept yelling "mermaid!! mermaid!!!🧜" that was pretty cool! Lol!!

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    Last edited by Mermaid Aura; 01-24-2018 at 11:36 AM.

  11. #31
    Senior Member TheChimera's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mermaid Aura View Post
    I'm super nervous about this too! I've only swam in my monofin at the pool once, but nobody even batted an eye. I don't think you could even tell I was using it underwater. Next time I'm going to break the ice with my full tail.. I'm hoping no one will pay attention, like last time. I think once I get into the water it'll be like anything else, I probably won't think twice about it after that! I've swam in my full tail at a lake before, with a crowded beach and no one seemed to pay attention or care, except a little girl who kept yelling "mermaid!! mermaid!!!🧜" that was pretty cool! Lol!!

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    That's a super cool feeling hehe I'm also a bit shy about swimming with a tail but you just gotta do it. Went for a walk at our pier here and there was a little girl that commented on my bright red hair saying: " look mommy it's Ariel", with that wonderment so unique to children , and her mom was all like " no, no dear she's not a mermaid" hey hey listen here lady ☝️lol I think parents should encourage imagination not deny it. Einstein did say that if you want your children to be more intelligent, they should read/ or be read more fairy tales.


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  12. #32
    Senior Member TheChimera's Avatar
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    @ Mermaid Aura, Btw what tailskin is that ? It's gorgeous


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  13. #33
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    So, before ordering my tail, my local pool said yes. So i placed my order. Took months and months. Finally she arrived in all her splender. I call the pool to let them know i would like to book a lane and they say NO.. turns out the other pool manager who said yes had left.. so all my happiness turned to sadness. They said it wad against pool policy (which can not be found anywhere) on their website or if i ask them to send me it.

    After calling 25 (i poop you not!) I finally had a pool say yes! I had to pay £22 and had to find someone to take me as i don't drive, travel for 40 minutes and made sure i had a swim buddy. I had never used a monofin or swam in a tail. I walked in with my tail over my shoulder and the life guard looked at me like "same poop different day". The pool wasn't too busy and as i prepared myself, lubed up my feet and body, i still couldn't get my right foot into the foot pocket. At that point i was so out of breath, i just said "frick it, get me in!". It was like this beautiful comedy sketch that never made it to TV with my partner pulling, hes yelling push down! but finally, i made it. I was terrified at first. But then it just disapeared. I felt so free, happy and alive. My partner was so happy for me and i was crying (DORK!) But i loved every minute of it. Make sure you take a buddy with you for support or if you feel nervous, they can be great support and look after you!

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  14. #34
    Senior Member Undisclosed Pod Seaspray Mermaid's Avatar
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    I'm glad you took all the responsible steps and had a great time! This hobby can be daunting! It sounds like you're a natural.

  15. #35
    Just re-found this topic and wanted to mention the anxieties I get from swimming in public that I didn't say before -
    While the last time I posted I said that at the pool no one seems to notice and it isn't a big deal for me there, when I go swimming elsewhere such as the beach or a spring I get butterflies in my stomach when I get very close to the site where I will be swimming. Once I have all of my gear and I'm carrying my tail to the water, I get really shaky feeling. Usually I will have a few random strangers watching me and striking up conversations with me because of the tail. When I first swam in my Finfolk fabric tail it was in public at a spring and people were crowding around me while I was sitting on the steps trying to get the tail on. It made me feel very nervous!

    I'm a shy introvert (INFJ personality type) but I mostly set that aside when I mermaid. I enjoy random strangers asking me about mermaiding and I enjoy swimming up to little kids and saying hi. I have encountered so many nice strangers through mermaiding. I have talked to people who I wouldn't have really talked to if it weren't for the tail.

    If I get a little nervous or anxious I don't care, because mermaiding helps get me through the mundane moments in life where I feel bored and question the point of it all, but then I go mermaiding and it brings me a special joy.
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  16. #36
    When swimming in a public space, i change with my tail under a sheet. Same at the beach. i get looks but i just want to focus on my new performance ideas or getting the right shot with my go pro. if youre anxious about the people, just understand that it really doesnt matter what they think. i work hard to entertain and even though it looks strange, its going to look great at the event which is all that matters to me.
    I got over my anxiety with pools by exposing myself to it often, ususally with friends. Friends help a lot.
    The only issue I have now is I don't like to take my tail off anywhere near kids so I will stay in costume till they leave sometime.
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  17. #37
    Senior Member Undisclosed Pod Trade Winds's Avatar
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    Despite being a mermaid for so long, I still feel nervous sometimes. It's always better to swim w/ someone anyways, for the safety and the fun. Around here in Texas (where pools that previously allowed us have banned us), I first make sure I am even still allowed. Showing that you're respectful to the place shows you aren't there to screw around. One of my biggest concerns is when I take my camera to tape myself, I feel like people will think I am a pedo by taping underwater...I'm also genderqueer, so I feel like my physical appearance can make people question me. It's all stupid stuff I shouldn't be worried about. I only had one issue while in my tail, and that was when a pool we used to be allowed at kicked us out for using a tail, and my friend had just a monofin. Aside from that, I naturally keep boundaries between myself and others to make sure they don't get hit and if I feel myself brush against someone I always immediately stop and make everything's ok.



  18. #38
    I first swam with my tail at my friend's pool in her apartment complex and honestly I was a little nervous at first that I was going to swim bad cause I'm still learning, people were gonna think it's childish to swim in a mermaid tail, etc. Once I got there and started putting my tail on, the first thing that happened was a little girl saw me and her face literally went like and it totally made my day and made me feel like a Disney princess or something! Pretty much everyone in the pool was staring at me haha, but I was just in the mindset of "I'm a majestic mermaid." I got a few side glances from some teens, but I think people were more just intrigued with seeing a mermaid in the pool. Later after I stopped swimming, the little girl came over to me and said "I like your mermaid tail! It's so pretty!"

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