'Mermaid' Subculture Relates to Many Things
2022-07-16
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1Around the world, people of many backgrounds are taking an interest in mermaids.
2Mermaids are imaginary sea creatures that are half woman and half fish.
3The 1989 Disney film, The Little Mermaid, increased the popularity of mermaids and "merfolk," the word for imaginary men and women who live under the sea and have fish tails.
4Today's merfolk are finding others to share their interests in "pods" or local groups of mermaids.
5They are creating magazines, going to gatherings called mermaid conventions, and spending a lot of money on their mermaid costumes.
6They are creating a multimillion dollar industry.
7Freedom and acceptance are why a lot of people are drawn to mermaiding.
8Che Monique is the founder of the Society of Fat Mermaids based in Washington, D.C.
9The group supports mermaiding that does not judge people on the appearance of their bodies.
10Monique said the activity of mermaiding has changed people's lives although it might seem really silly to others.
11"I'm a 300-pound Black mermaid in America over 35, and hopefully that tells somebody they can do whatever they want to do."
12Monique added, "I think there's room under the sea for all of us."
13Some people enjoy the costumes or mermaid tails. The tails are colorful and glittering.
14Images on social media of the tails have helped to increase mermaid popularity.
15When mermaiding first became well-known, tails cost a lot of money - up to $6,000 - because they were made for each person's body.
16They also weighed up to 23 kilograms. Tails now cost less than $100 because of their increased popularity and low-cost materials.
17Thirty-one-year-old Marielle Henault is the chief executive of AquaMermaid.
18The company runs mermaiding schools in Canada and the United States.
19She sells mermaid tails to merfolk all over the world. She has 20 tails that she owns herself.
20"When you put your mermaid tail on at the beach or pool, you become a superstar," Henault said, "Kids and adults, everybody's happy to see a mermaid!
21Swimming as a mermaid requires the use of a special kind of equipment called a monofin.
22Users place both feet into the fin so they can swim.
23The mermaids must also learn a special kind of swimming method called a dolphin kick.
24Using this method, a person moves both feet together like a dolphin.
25They must also equalize the pressure in their ears as they swim under water.
26There are events and competitions like the World Mermaid Championship, which was last held in China in 2019.
27In the state of New York, the yearly Coney Island Mermaid Parade recently took place.
28Henault wants to help get mermaiding into the Olympics, possibly as a demonstration sport.
29Recently, mermaids have created their own "Merlympics" in Britain and Europe.
30Mermaiding is popular with some transgender people.
31These are people who believe their true identity is the sex other than the one they were at birth.
32Some of them identify with the character of Ariel from The Little Mermaid.
33Ariel felt trapped as a mermaid and sought life among humans.
34Mermaid Nymphia is a professional mermaid and a transgender adult.
35Nymphia said The Little Mermaid is popular with some of the LGBTQ community because Ariel wants to change into a human.
36"With transgender and nonbinary merfolk, they often connect with that mentality where you're not quite sure which world you belong in," Nymphia said.
37Many people have found acceptance in the mermaid community.
38Tabora, from the Philippines, is transgender and teaches at a mermaiding school called DIVERSity by SeaReynang Pengki.
39"As transgender, it's a transition. It's like in the sea, everything evolves.The fish evolve, the coral evolves," Tabora said.
40However, safety concerns are increasing, from strangers on the internet, people selling false products, and swimming safety problems.
41Kelly Hygema is the creator of a social media group that supports internet safety for mermaids.
42She said that it is important to always have someone you can trust with you while you are in the water with a tail.
43"With your legs bound, you can't really run away, so it's important to have that set of legs there to make sure you're OK," Hygema said.
44Some groups have raised safety concerns over the tails.
45In 2018, the Royal Life Saving Society of Western Australia studied the effects of mermaiding on 25 children.
46It found that the majority of them had experienced a decrease in swimming ability of 70 percent with the monofins and 60 percent with the tails.
47In the United States, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said, in the past four years, it has received three incident reports involving mermaid tails, one involving a five-year-old girl becoming trapped underwater.
48The girl had put her arms and legs in the tail.
49She went to the hospital after the incident.
50Lauren Metzler is the founder of Sydney Mermaids.
51She recently received a mermaid certification, a kind of official approval.
52Her goal is to teach inexperienced mermaids how to swim underwater and avoid sinking.
53For many merfolk, the pastime is all about being part of a community and having fun, especially after COVID-19 restrictions.
54Merman Maui said, "I have a new family with all these people."
55Metzler, who hopes to train mermaids, said people should open up their imaginations.
56"The sky - or ocean floor - is the limit of what you can do with mermaiding," she said.
57I'm Faith Pirlo.
58And I'm Dan Friedell
1Around the world, people of many backgrounds are taking an interest in mermaids. 2Mermaids are imaginary sea creatures that are half woman and half fish. 3The 1989 Disney film, The Little Mermaid, increased the popularity of mermaids and "merfolk," the word for imaginary men and women who live under the sea and have fish tails. 4Today's merfolk are finding others to share their interests in "pods" or local groups of mermaids. They are creating magazines, going to gatherings called mermaid conventions, and spending a lot of money on their mermaid costumes. They are creating a multimillion dollar industry. 5Why mermaiding? 6Freedom and acceptance are why a lot of people are drawn to mermaiding. 7Che Monique is the founder of the Society of Fat Mermaids based in Washington, D.C. The group supports mermaiding that does not judge people on the appearance of their bodies. Monique said the activity of mermaiding has changed people's lives although it might seem really silly to others. 8"I'm a 300-pound Black mermaid in America over 35, and hopefully that tells somebody they can do whatever they want to do." Monique added, "I think there's room under the sea for all of us." 9Some people enjoy the costumes or mermaid tails. The tails are colorful and glittering. Images on social media of the tails have helped to increase mermaid popularity. 10When mermaiding first became well-known, tails cost a lot of money - up to $6,000 - because they were made for each person's body. They also weighed up to 23 kilograms. Tails now cost less than $100 because of their increased popularity and low-cost materials. 11Thirty-one-year-old Marielle Henault is the chief executive of AquaMermaid. The company runs mermaiding schools in Canada and the United States. She sells mermaid tails to merfolk all over the world. She has 20 tails that she owns herself. 12"When you put your mermaid tail on at the beach or pool, you become a superstar," Henault said, "Kids and adults, everybody's happy to see a mermaid! 13How do they swim? 14Swimming as a mermaid requires the use of a special kind of equipment called a monofin. Users place both feet into the fin so they can swim. The mermaids must also learn a special kind of swimming method called a dolphin kick. Using this method, a person moves both feet together like a dolphin. They must also equalize the pressure in their ears as they swim under water. 15There are events and competitions like the World Mermaid Championship, which was last held in China in 2019. In the state of New York, the yearly Coney Island Mermaid Parade recently took place. 16Henault wants to help get mermaiding into the Olympics, possibly as a demonstration sport. Recently, mermaids have created their own "Merlympics" in Britain and Europe. 17Mermaiding and diversity 18Mermaiding is popular with some transgender people. These are people who believe their true identity is the sex other than the one they were at birth. Some of them identify with the character of Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Ariel felt trapped as a mermaid and sought life among humans. 19Mermaid Nymphia is a professional mermaid and a transgender adult. Nymphia said The Little Mermaid is popular with some of the LGBTQ community because Ariel wants to change into a human. 20"With transgender and nonbinary merfolk, they often connect with that mentality where you're not quite sure which world you belong in," Nymphia said. 21Many people have found acceptance in the mermaid community. 22Tabora, from the Philippines, is transgender and teaches at a mermaiding school called DIVERSity by SeaReynang Pengki. 23"As transgender, it's a transition. It's like in the sea, everything evolves. The fish evolve, the coral evolves," Tabora said. 24Dangers of mermaiding 25However, safety concerns are increasing, from strangers on the internet, people selling false products, and swimming safety problems. 26Kelly Hygema is the creator of a social media group that supports internet safety for mermaids. She said that it is important to always have someone you can trust with you while you are in the water with a tail. 27"With your legs bound, you can't really run away, so it's important to have that set of legs there to make sure you're OK," Hygema said. 28Some groups have raised safety concerns over the tails. In 2018, the Royal Life Saving Society of Western Australia studied the effects of mermaiding on 25 children. It found that the majority of them had experienced a decrease in swimming ability of 70 percent with the monofins and 60 percent with the tails. 29In the United States, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said, in the past four years, it has received three incident reports involving mermaid tails, one involving a five-year-old girl becoming trapped underwater. The girl had put her arms and legs in the tail. She went to the hospital after the incident. 30Lauren Metzler is the founder of Sydney Mermaids. She recently received a mermaid certification, a kind of official approval. Her goal is to teach inexperienced mermaids how to swim underwater and avoid sinking. 31The importance of community 32For many merfolk, the pastime is all about being part of a community and having fun, especially after COVID-19 restrictions. 33Merman Maui said, "I have a new family with all these people." 34Metzler, who hopes to train mermaids, said people should open up their imaginations. "The sky - or ocean floor - is the limit of what you can do with mermaiding," she said. 35I'm Faith Pirlo. 36And I'm Dan Friedell 37Kristen Gelineau wrote this article for The Associated Press. Faith Pirlo adapted it for Learning English. 38_____________________________________________________________________ 39Words in This Story 40costume -n. clothes that are worn to try to look like something different 41silly -adj. not serious, meaningful, or important 42glittering - adj. shining brightly 43character - n. a person who appears in a story, book, play, movie, or television show 44LGBTQ -acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer 45norm - n. behavior that is usual or expected 46nonbinary - adj. describing someone whose gender identity is not completely male or female 47mentality - n. a person's opinions or way of thinking 48transition - n. to act of changing from one state or condition to another 49evolve - v. to undergo evolutionary change 50bound - adj. restricted or tied up with rope or some other material 51______________________________________________________________________ 52We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. 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