New Resource FB page For Mers: Guest Posters Wanted

[AniaR]

Hey everyone! With all the scary stuff going on in the media with tails being banned, mermaids having trouble, and people not knowing how to get started... I decided to make a FB page specifically for sharing my resources and tips on how to be a mermaid along with posting the promo sales for my books, new vlogs, and have guest posts from some of you on a variety of topics.

I really want to help raise the professional standard and the safety standard in our industry! Most of the content is free but of course I'll post my book sales. So please give it a like!
And if you're someone who feels you may have something to contribute on any topic of being a pro mermaid please leave a comment or send a message to the page. Let me know a brief summary of the topic you'd like to speak one and why you feel it would be important to share. If it gets approved (just trying to make sure we don't do too much overlap and all content is applicable) I'll shoot you a message with a word count and ask for photos and if it applies your FB page so I can tag you (hopefully get you more fans) Similarly if you already have a video, forum post you're extra proud of, tumblr post, or blog that you feel fits in well we can talk about featuring that too.

I'd really like to hear more from the niches in the community! Mers with special talents they apply, or specific jobs they do, mer men, mers who don't go in the water (looking at you KL), or even people who have a story they want to share they think may help others.

Invite your friends https://www.facebook.com/pages/Learn...92403157543012

[Princess Kae-Leah]

Great idea, liked!

[MerShellly]

This is cool! Is there a "follow button" anywhere there? I'd love to receive notifications every time something is posted.

[MerShellly]

Oh wait, nvm. I see it

[AniaR]

I've set up some scheduled posts on content I really think will help people! So this week there's some great stuff coming out

[SINicallyTwisted]

Liked and shared!

[Celaeno]

^^^Ditto!

[Mermaid Enora]

Great page! I liked it!

[Princess Kae-Leah]

Here's a post I'm submitting for the page:
I Am A Mermaid Who Only Swims In The Waters Of Imagination And Meditation by Princess Kae-Leah
Something that I think sets me apart from the vast majority of the mer-community is I cannot swim. Sure, I'm willing to go into shallow water for a photo shoot, or sit and chill on the title steps of the pool and watch the rest of the merfolk enjoy swimming at an event should the opportunity for me to do so arise, but actual swimming? Nope, not even one stroke. A lot of people are perhaps curious as to why I have never learned to swim. A big part of that is circumstances of having a lot of health conditions that make physical fitness of any kind a challenge, but I suppose if I am truly honest, I just have never been that interested in participating in any kind of athletics. I've always been much more interested in thinking, dreaming, writing, and reading than in moving my body, although of course I certainly understand the importance of exercise and do at least try to incorporate a halfway decent amount of exercise into my lifestyle, such as leg lift exercises(sometimes even in my tail!), walking, and riding a stationery bike.

Swimming was more something I felt guilty about not doing because it seemed everyone else in this community was so I felt like I had to do it to fit in than something I genuinely felt driven to do for my own sake. After all so many threads here relate to swimming and videos of mers swimming tend to get a lot of attention on social media so it was easy for me to feel like a semi-literal fish out of water here. It also can sting when so many mer-events tend to center around swimming.

However, time makes everything easier, though, to be sure, old insecurities still can be triggered back occasionally. No matter how alone one might feel, it's an awfully big world out there and one might be surprised that there are others out there who you can relate to. I have met a best friend who also loves mermaids but doesn't swim, and it has been pointed out to me that at least one somewhat well-known professional apparently cannot swim either.

Some may wonder why do I own a tail, and how do I use it without swimming. Well, an analogy I like to make is I also cosplay as Utena Tenjou from the iconic 1990s shoujo anime and manga Revolutionary Girl Utena. Utena certainly also possesses many skills I do not possess. She's an extremely talented all-around athlete and great swordfighter, but that certainly does not mean that I need fencing lessons to dress up as her, does it ;? Of course not! I also have a pair of fake fairy wings from the costume store, and I can't fly. Cosplay is after all ultimately about pretending, not reality. You don't need to be Michael Phelps to wear a mertail any more than you need a pilot's license to wear fairy wings or need to be able to make it snow to dress up as Elsa. I personally believe that cosplay is a very inclusive activity, ANYONE can wear a costume, no matter who they are.

Besides just like with any other costume, there are many things one can do in a mertail other than just swimming. I have actually started a few threads on that very topic. One can do plenty of photo shoots without swimming ability, use their imagination and do ocean-themed meditation, or even do leg lift exercises in-tail when dry or in very shallow water. I don't wish to discourage others from swimming, but I wish more mers would think outside the box a little more and think up fun, creative activities to do as a mer instead of just swimming.

Sometimes I don't feel I'm really missing out on much as I get to be very unique and original and think up new and innovative methods of mermaiding that others probably wouldn't have thought of, activities that I wish to share with others. I think even mers who are strong swimmers could get something out of trying dry mermaid activities once in a while, because you probably can't swim every day, can you? When I see mers posting about how much they miss swimming because it's cold out, for example, I just wanna say "Hey, you can still wear your tail and take photos, can you? Why don't you sit on the couch in your tail and watch your favorite mermaid movie? It may not be the same as swimming, but it's something".

While a big part of mermaiding for me is just good old-fashioned cosplay fun, it's also about living as eco-conscious of a lifestyle as possible, which is also something that doesn't require athletic skills. While I know some other mers here might have a different interpretation of how they imagine merfolk to be like and that's perfectly fine, my vision of how merfolk would live is highly influenced by Disney and fairy tales. I'm a vegetarian and a huge animal lover, especially when it comes to sea creatures, so I love how in some mermaid media aimed primarily at children, such as Disney's The Little Mermaid as well as few other titles I recommended in other threads, mers can speak to sea creatures and treat them more or less as equals. I just find that really inspiring, I love the idea of fantasy creatures being in some ways morally superior to humans, so we can learn from their ideals of peace and harmony and try our best to apply that to our real lives. By dressing up as a half-fish creature, I can symbolize allying myself with fish and other animals instead of going along with the cruel and exploitative way so many humans treat animals and nature. People sometimes wonder why I call myself "Princess Kae-Leah", and I think a big part of the whole princess thing is seeing myself as a protector and defender of sealife, who watches benevolently over animals as a good monarch should.

Now, I know Raina's Facebook resource page is mainly about PROFESSIONAL mermaiding, so what do I have to say about that? Well, I'm not a professional mer nor do I seriously plan on becoming one in the future. I really can't share insight on the same issues that Raina does in her posts and blogs. Do I think a non-swimmer can become a professional mer? That's a tough question, because it is true that most of the most prolific professional mermaids have at least some degree of swimming ability, and it seems that places like Weekee Wachee and the Dive Bar favor swimmers, which I admit is understandable to some degree as businesses often have a business model that they follow, which might require certain skills and qualifications. However, on the other hands, look at princess party companies and theme parks. Disneyland doesn't care if Ariel can swim as long as she can look pretty, interact with the guests, and pose for pictures, and I think mermaid face characters at amusement parks count as professional mermaids. While some party companies have swimming mermaids, there are plenty that have non-swimming mermaid characters. If you're serious about getting into professional mermaiding but don't have much in the way of swimming ability, I highly recommend watching YouTube videos of Disney theme park face characters and party princesses and study how they interact with children. An acting class or two certainly couldn't hurt either. Being able to work well with children while staying in character can be just as marketable of a skill as swimming is. Also considering that mermaids are stereotypically portrayed as being excellent singers, if you have any degree of musical talent, that could be a plus for a pro mermaid just as much as swimming as well.

[Spindrift]

If there's any interest for a post on makeup, I'd be interested in writing it. I guess I can also do something on educating kids.

[AniaR]

KL did you know that mermaid Pearl the pirate mermaid can't swim? 99% of what she does is dry and she only poses in water

[AniaR]

Also if people feel like doing their posts up on their actual mermaid pages, I can share from your mermaid page so people will be able to find you, like, and support!

[Mermaid Lorelei]

I guess I meant to post and never did, but I think this is a fantastic idea. If you're interested, I could write something up as well.

[Princess Kae-Leah]

KL did you know that mermaid Pearl the pirate mermaid can't swim? 99% of what she does is dry and she only poses in water

Yep, she was the one I was referring to when I said "it has been pointed out to me that at least one somewhat well-known professional can't swim either"
Finding that out was a bit of an eye-opener to me because I never would have guessed just looking at her that she couldn't swim, considering she was a relatively expensive-looking tail and goes to all the major events.

[Princess Kae-Leah]

OK, copy/pasted my article on my FB mer-page

[Princess Kae-Leah]

Added this paragraph to my above-posted article on FB(near the middle of it because that's where it flowed best from a writing standpoint):
With all that said, it has come to my attention that not all mertails are equally safe and easy to use when dry. The high-end silicone tails which the majority of professional mermaids own are extremely heavy on land, so some of the activities I suggested above may not be a great idea to do without supervision in that kind of tail. Lightweight fabric tails may undeniably not look as realistic, but are the best option for dry use. I find my Fin Fun extremely versatile for a wide variety of activities. Some mers even own seperate tails for wet and dry use.

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