The Origins of the Copenhagen Mermaid: A Tragic Tale of Unrequited Love Part 2

Edvard & Henrietta Collins

story continued from...http://meridianmer-gyver.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-origins-of-copenhagen-mermaid.html

Edvard Collins, born into a family of privilege was educated well dressed and well mannered. Edvard was the son of Jonas Collins, the man who paid for Hans’ schooling.  The Collins family had taken in Hans, given him a proper education, a home and family and a place in society, but they never let him forget his humble upbringing. Hans would gain success, money, and even a little fame, but when he returned to the Collins home, he was always reminded that he did not truly belong in their “class”. 

Edvard and Hans were close friends, but once again Edvard would not let Hans forget his meager up brings.  Hans wrote to his friend…” If you will forget the circumstances of my birth and always be to me what I am to you, you will find in me the most honest and sympathetic friend."  This plea for acceptance apparently did no good; Edvard would never really see Hans as an equal.

Hans & Edvard? I'd like to think so!

Between 1835 and 1836 Edvard Collins announces his upcoming marriage to a young woman named Henrietta and Hans begins to write the world’s most famous fairy tale from a broken heart.  It is highly suspected that the entire story of The Little Mermaid is a love letter to Edvard written after he rejected Hans. Once Hans heard the news of Edvard’s engagement, he wrote to Edvard…”I languish for you as for a pretty Calabrian wench... my sentiments for you are those of a woman. The femininity of my nature and our friendship must remain a mystery." 

Calabrain (a region of Greece) Women .

Edvard, not knowing how to respond simply wrote…"I found myself unable to respond to this love, and this caused the author much suffering." Could those few words have sparked the fire inside of Hans to write "The Story of the Little Mermaid"? Many scholars believe Hans wrote the story to symbolize his inability to have Edvard as a lover, just as the mermaid cannot be with her human lover.  Most believe the mermaid to symbolize Hans; she could not speak for she did not have a voice. He could not speak out in the world he lived in; his homosexuality would never to accepted.  He would have to write and create worlds and characters where his emotions and feelings could live freely without shame or ridicule.

 In the original ending of the Little Mermaid (and frankly, the only ending I was familiar with), the poor love forsaken mermaid dies of a broken heart and dissolves into sea foam for three hundred years. Now, I have come to understand that Hans later added the parts about the Daughters of Air (angels) and the moral of children who behave badly versus children who are kind. Some Scholars feel the happy ending to be an “unnatural addition”.  Was this added to disguise the fact that the story is really a love letter? 

36 years after the birth of the Little Mermaid, Hans Christian Andersen dies.  At this point in time he was a national treasure and loved by many people. Hans’ personal love life was tragic at best, but he had many friends and companions who loved and cared for him. His life was not all doom and gloom, but it would take a lot of sadness to accomplish his most beloved works.

 On August 4^th 1875 Hans Christian Andersen passed quietly into his next life.  He was found with a small pouch containing a letter from Riborg Voigt, a woman he loved in youth and was never fulfilled.  Earlier that spring while staying with a close friend and his family, Hans fell out of bed severely hurting himself. This was the beginning of his end, his wounds never really healed and he began to show signs of liver cancer. Shortly before Hans died he requested that a composer write the music for his funeral saying… "Most of the people who will walk after me will be children, so make the beat keep time with little steps."

Hans Christian Andersen is buried at Assistens Kirkegård in the Nørrebro area of Copenhagen.  In the same city where his beloved little mermaid statue still sits, watching and waiting for her prince…  Like the mermaid Hans never married, is he too still siting, still watching and still waiting for his prince?

                 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In 2012, the world is a different place and life times have come and gone, but one love is finally fulfilled. Two artists, London and Berlin-based art duo Elmgreen & Dragset, installed a new commissioned  piece for the Harbor in the city of Elsingore, Denmark.

Han

This is Han, it means ‘He’ in Danish and it is a nod to Hans Christian Andersen. Han sits looking out into the Harbor past boats and waves in the direction of his love, the Copenhagen Mermaid. Han is a companion piece, meant to be the contemporary counterpart to the bronze and granite mermaid. The statue is of a young man posing on a rock, sited in the same way as the Copenhagen mermaid. 

       

The stone on which he sits on is in the exact shape of the stone used in Copenhagen. What makes Han so striking is he was created and cast in stainless steel, highly polished to reflect the harbor scenery.  Even more striking, a hydraulic mechanism was installed inside the sculpture’s head, allowing Han to shut his eyes for a few seconds every 30 minutes. His eyes closed to the world at large, Han can take a quiet moment to reflect.

In the end a man named Edvard was the cause of The Story of the Little Mermaid, a man named Edvard, years later, created the Copenhagen mermaid. A man named Hans fell in love and fell hard and now Han is the final piece in this broken tale of love unrequited. Han is now a companion to the Copenhagen Mermaid, he is a reminder of Edvard, and he is forever a statement that love will always concur all.

...And that is the perfect fairy tale ending.

The Origins of the Copenhagen Mermaid: A Tragic Tale of Unrequited Love Part 1

Today we celebrate the 100^th birthday of the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, Denmark. The statue was inspired and commissioned by a local Danish man; he worked as a brewer and was the son of the founder of Carlsberg. But most importantly, was his love for the The Little Mermaid, after seeing a ballet performance, his name was Carl Jacobsen. On August 23^rd, 1913 he unveiled the now beloved statue.  She was created by Edvard Eriksennd, shaped from granite and bronze covered, modeled after his wife, Eline Eriksen. The original muse for the sculpture was a Ballerina named Ellen Price, who in 1909 danced the lead role in the ballet The Little Mermaid at the Royal Theatre, which began Carl Jacobsen’s obsession. Ellen Price turned down the offer to be the model for the statue because she did not want to pose nude.  

Every year thousands of tourist flock to Copenhagen for chance to see the infamous mermaid, over the years she has been the subject of much love and abuse. Tourist lining up to take photos some leave small gifts and others still wade out into the water to pose for an up close picture. With all this love and attention also comes jealousy and cruelty. The innocent statue has been marked with lewd comments, paint solid hot pink for a protest and the most heinous still….One cold lonely night in 1964 a band of political activists emerged from the evening haze and decapitated the poor mermaid, stealing off with head! The head was never found, but a new was made and the statue was returned to her former glory. One decapitation is bad but two is heinous! Again 1998, she was decapitated but this time no one knows who or why.  However, her head was returned anonymously to a nearby TV station and on February 4  ^th her head was returned to its rightful place upon her shoulders.  

The Headless Mermaid :(

The Little Mermaid has been blown into the harbor by explosives, draped in a burqa, holes drilled into her hands and feet and once a large dildo was placed in her hand. As a result the city council is taking measures to move her further out into the Harbor. The Little Mermaid statue was moved once before to Shanghai, China for Expo 2010, it was the first and only time she has left her home in Denmark.

Expo 2010 Danish Pavilion over 5.5 Million people came visit the mermaid 

As thousands more tourists flock the streets of Copenhagen this year to admire our beloved Little Mermaid and thousands more will be introduced to her by Disney’s The Little Mermaid, the most famous retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s story, I began to wonder…

Who is Hans Christian Andersen? 

We all know his stories, we grew up with the name, but who is HE?

Here is my re-telling of the history of a man who gave birth to some of the most romantic fairy tales and never found true love himself...

Birth Home. Odense, Denmark 1805

Hans Christian Andersen was born an only child to rather unremarkable family. His Father, also Hans, was fairly educated, his mother was highly educated and became a lawyer after the death of her husband. There are some rumors that the Andersen family had ties to nobility and that Hans Christian Andersen was really the illegitimate son of King Christian VII.  Most of this is hearsay, rumor, and an old grandmother’s idle chattering’s, it seems most of these theories have been disproved.  After the death of his father, Hans was sent to boarding school and his mother remarried and carried on with her life.  By the age of 14 Hans found himself, with an education, job experience, and a desire to act. He would find his dreams in the Royal Danish Theater, only he wasn't acting.

Royal Danish Theatre 

Hans was gifted with the most angelic soprano voice, but soon faded away with puberty.  With his voice now gone and the support of a colleague Hans began writing poetry and published his first story in 1822. A man by the name of Jonas Collin was taken with Hans and his work; he paid for him to attend Grammar School.  As fortunate as this may sound, Hans was later heard saying that his school years where the darkest and most bitter years of his life. It is documented that Hans suffered abuse and neglect from his Boarding School teachers, classmates and even his Schoolmaster, whose home Hans lived in. The Schoolmaster forbid Hans to write, causing him to fall into a deep depression.

With all this behind him, he poured all his desires, hopes, and dreams into his fairy tales creating the life he would never lead.  His love life would be no better… "Almighty God, thee only have I; thou steerest my fate, I must give myself up to thee! Give me a livelihood! Give me a bride! My blood wants love, as my heart does!"  - Hans Christian Andersen’s personal journal.  Hans never married and all the women he fell in love with were unattainable or unrequited.  Hans may have prayed for a wife, but he was awkward and shy around women. Today, most scholars and psychologists believeHans was bisexual; however, he never acted upon his drives. In fact is it is written in his private journals that he refuses to have sexual intercourse.  Hans fancy in men would be no better…. 

One such man in Hans’s interest was Edvard Collin.

To Be Continued....

“Fairytales can come true, you gotta make 'em happen, it all depends on you” Make-A-Wish, Mermaid Rentals, & Mer-Gyver!

A sweet 6 year old girl suffering from cancer had one wish…to be mermaids with her 4 year old twin brother and sister on the beach. Make-A –Wish teamed up with Thom Shouse of Mermaid Rentals and yesterday we made her dreams come true!

Thom and "Dad" checking out the Studio!

On a warm overcast August day a little girl and her family arrived in Torrance, California. The children were in awe when they arrived at Thom’s studio, their wide eyes sweeping over the giant dolphin hanging from the rafters to the boxes of mermaid props and resting finally on the shelf where all the mermaid tails are stored.   Many happy stories and smiles were shared and the children quickly took to Thom, asking questions, sharing their stories and showing off their mermaid tops and Ariel wigs.

The children drew ‘Thank You’ cards for Thom with mermaids and sunshine, which brought a happy tear to our eyes and smile that would not quit! 

  With happiness to fill our hearts we loaded up, Thom and I had my truck loaded down with tails, prop rocks, coolers, and canopies. The children safely buckled and the mermaid caravan was off to the beach!

The children were greeted by a band of friendly pirates on the grass, as we prepared and set up for the tail reveling on the sand.  As, Mer-Gyver, I unloaded the truck, powdered and prepped the tails, and made sure everyone and everything was in place and ready to go!  We all headed out to the water’s edge where the children could wiggle their toes in the sand, collect shells and stones, and begin their merfolk transformation!

Mermaid Ashley and Mermaid Jenny helped the little girls with their hair and jewelry before slipping into their tails. Our little man turned out to be somewhat shy, so with the help of a few pirates and Mermaid Me, we created a private area for him transform into the strong tough merman we all know him to be!

With the children clad in brand new tails and the waves slowly rolling on the wet sand, it truly was a scene from a child’s imagination. Pictures were taken and soon the grown up mermaids joined the little ones on the beach. Myself and the little merman taking a moment to gaze out into the water where splashed by a rogue wave, but not to worry! I quickly scooped him up onto my tail (lap) and all was right again.  We rested for moment before he told me he wanted his legs back, with a little help from Dad, he was free to run the beach! The little mermaids and the grown up mermaids spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in the sand while the wave licked at our tails and sea weed gathered around our flukes. We pointed out the sail boats, scuba diver, and surfer; we talked about seashells and cheered when the big waves would come crashing in.  At that moment the only thing in this world that mattered were my pod sisters, myself and these little girls.  True magic is often found right in front you and I believe that we lived that magic yesterday.

As days tend to do, this one also had to come to an end. We all slipped out of our sandy wet tails, Mermaid Ashley and Mermaid Jenny took the girls for walk in the waves and I headed over to play with our little boy. The water was too much for him and he decided that the dry sand of the beach was the safest place to be. So we throw seaweed pods at the waves and cheered when the water washed them away and if a wave got to close, he would run a little back and come running forward to throw more seaweed as the water gentle washed back down the sand. Lunch was a picnic on the grass at the beach park with pirates and mermaids, balloon animals and gifts from the pirates! 

Lady Pirate, we know why the rum's gone! 

After hugs and thank you’s, I loaded the truck back up and Thom and I headed back to the studio. It was a beautiful day full of love, laughter, and magic. I am so thankful to have been a part of that moment and I hope we touched their hearts and lives as much as they touched ours!  

Love, Peace, & Mermaids,

Meridian

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Blue Marbles Project: Sharing Random Acts of Blue Gratitude

"You are not a drop in the ocean; you are the entire ocean in a drop." – Rumi

Unfortunately, I will not be attending Mer-Palooza this year; however my dearest friend, King Neptune, will be attending and he will be carrying my message of Ocean Conservation. If you are attending Mer-Palooza this year make sure to hear the address from King Neptune, we are working together to introduce the Blue Marble Project to the Mermaid Community. Along with his address, King Neptune will have a bag of Blue Marbles that I have gifted to him so he may continue to spread our message!

What do Blue Marbles have to with Ocean Conservation?

  According to Dr. Wallace "J" Nichols, they are a way to teach people about respecting and helping our world’s oceans.  Dr. Wallace "J." Nichols is a Research Associate at California Academy of Sciences and co-founder of OceanRevolution.org, SEEtheWILD.org, GrupoTortuguero.org, and LiVBLUE.org, all of which are global campaigns to reconnect us to our oceans and life within that needs our care and protection.

A fun, simple way to help spread awareness and born of the mind of Dr. Wallace J. Nichols. Three years ago on Jacques Cousteau's 100th Birthday, the Blue Marble Project was born! Each marble is roughly the size of our planet when viewed from One Million Miles away; they are a pocket sized reminder of how important our Oceans are. Johnny Appleseed wondered around planting apple seeds to populate the land with delicious fruit for all to eat. Much like the story of Johnny Appleseed, these marbles are seeds of gratitude and awareness.  The Blue Marbles Project has set out to pass a blue marble through every person's hand on earth, with a simple message of gratitude along with it! What could be a better gift for mermaids to give than the gift of conservation through awareness?  Carry a few marbles in your pocket or purse, hand them out to people with a message… “Practice Random Acts of Ocean Kindness!”  You can purchase your very own Blue Marbles and join in on the Blue Marble game at BlueMarbles.org  Currently over one million blue marbles are traveling the world from person to person. When you are given a Blue Marble it is a gift to you and it is a gift to give again. Continue to pass the message and let the world know MerFolk support the Oceans!

Blue Marbles ~ The Game of Gratitude

1.       Get a blue marble

Dr. Wallace "J" Nichols

2.       Look through your marble and imagine the taste and feel of the ocean

3.       Hold the marble to your mind’s eye and think of the person you will give it to.

4.       Hold the marble to your heart and imagine the gratitude felt in giving and receiving.

5.       Give your marble away and watch it travel the world!

I hope you will all join me in the Blue Marbles game, you can get blue marbles anywhere, but if you get them from the Blue Marbles Project they will donate the profits in an effort to keep ocean kindness traveling around the globe! Plus the blue marbles will come in a great little mesh bag with cards to pass along with them.  Just tie the bag to your belt when you head out to the beach and give out a few blue marbles to curious folk and continue to … Live Blue!

For more information on Blue Marble Project, Dr. Nichols, and Purchasing Marbles check out…

BlueMarbles.og

Bethedifferentbynature.com

Wallacejnichols.org

Donate: http://digitalocean.net/projects/blue-marbles-project-share-random-acts-of-gratitude/

You can also follow Blue Marble on Facebook and Twitter

If you get a blue marble, post your photo with the marble on their page and mine!

www.facebook.com/meridian.mergyver

Love, Peace, & Mermaids,

  Meridian Mer-Gyver

Mermaid Rentals makes a Splash at CBS Studios!

CBS Studios!

The League of Extraordinary Mermaids

On July 4^th 2013 five mermaids from Thom Shouse’s Mermaid Rentals Pod made a show stopping appearance at CBS Studios annual Firework Show.  The Mermaids were stunning, the props were outstanding, and the crowd was more than pleased, but what does it take to look this good???

Mermaid Rentals employs a pod of talented, strong, and beautiful mermaids, we are not just rock sitters! We are the League of Extraordinaire Mermaids and we can do it all!  7AM shows up terribly early in morning, but in order to pull off a large event we all pull together, work together, and make the magic happen! Trucks, Mermaids, and Landsmen line the driveway of the Tail Man’s Studio early in the morning. Mermaids grab your tails, Landsmen grab the gear, let’s load up and head out to our next stop!

Landsman Ty and The Tail Man Thom

We pop over to WM Events in Torrance to pick props and scenery. A quick look over the giant the pumpkin, insulting wishing well, and the mummified mermaid (my favorite!)  the Landsmen began loading up the trucks and then it was off to Studio City and the CBS Studios!
Our caravan of mermaids and pirate props descends on the main gates of CBS studios, a quick check in and we are ushered off to our location for the day. Set up began quickly, the trucks were unloaded and it was time for the Landsmen to take over. The Mermaids were shown to our dress room which was located in the same sound stage that filmed Roseanne and Mary Taylor Moore.

We even had a star on our door again this year!  A moments rest in the air conditioning, a fresh face of make-up, and tousled hair we were ready to go. One by one our Landsmen carried or wheeled their mermaid to our booth! Over the course of a few hours we meet many children, took tons of pictures with grown-ups and little ones and raised over $250 dollars for the Children’s Tumor Foundation.

Thom and his Mer-Daughters 

It was an amazing day, but the sun was setting the air getting cooler and the mermaids needed to return to human form before they got too cold and shrank into sea foam.

 Just like this afternoon, one by one the mermaids were carried away. We were returned to the dressing rooms for warm clothes and a bite to eat before we all headed up to the rooftop to watch the firework display!  Each one of the mermaids snuggled up with their Landsmen to watch the fireworks explode in bright and glittering colors to a combination of modern music and classic American pride songs.

The Fireworks were incredible and from where we sat we could see firework shows all around us going off in the distance. Our show had ended and it was time for break down, all hands on deck!!!  Every able bodied hand was busy with break down, loading trucks and picking up trash. Our site was clean and cleared, as if we had never been there. Hugs and Kisses where had in rounds and we all got into our trucks and went our separate ways. Two trucks went to return the props, two cars began their drive home, and we headed back to the Tail Man’s Studio.  After a very long day, we got back in our truck and headed home….

“When Mermaids’ sleep they rest their heads on coral beds…”

Love, Peace, & Mermaids,

 Meridian Mer-Gyver

If you would like to help Meridian Mer-Gyver return to Mer-Palooza, please donate:

http://mer-palooza.com/meridian-mer-gyvers-guest-author-article-blue-marbles-project-merpaloozas-mermaid-journal/

Leave a comment, stay connected and be sure to follow Meridian Mer-Gyver at:

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Keep up with Thom Shoue and The League of Extraordinaire Mermaids:

http://www.mermaidrentals.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mermaid-Rentals/373445526043647?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/thom.shouse1?ref=ts&fref=ts

The Men behind the Mermaids: Merman Christian ~ The Fluke Maker

Yet another multi-talented merman in our midst, Merman Christian comes to us from Baltimore Maryland. Christian is an active staple in the independent film business and working his way into the major studios. It is no surprise that he majored in Theater, what may come as a surprise was this young man’s passion for the ocean and all the life within the deep blue. Merman Christian’s love for sharks, rays, whales, dolphins and starfish began as a child and was quickly followed by his new love…mermaids!  High School was the perfect time for him to major in his two passions, Marine Biology and Theater. Now that our stage has been set, Merman Christian has grown up and his dreams are being met. A couple years ago he started making his own monofins and stumbled upon the Mermaid Community. Seeing how passionate others were about mermaid life and seeing professional mermaids, it was time to take the plunge. Merman Christian created his own tail with his own monofin, but he also wanted to have a message…"Fighting for our Oceans on a much deeper scale..."

Meridian: Explain to me how you started making monofins and why?

Merman Christian: Well it started about 2 years ago when I rediscovered my immense love for the ocean. Since I was a kid everything was always about sharks, rays, jellyfish, and MERMAIDS, but as I got older I started getting into new projects like working and acting in film and television and I lost sight of my passion for the ocean, however I DID study Marine biology in high school. Anyway, one day I was online on Youtube and I happened to search for mermaids and that’s how I discovered the woman who is now my biggest inspiration in the mer-community and that is MERMAID MELISSA. I watched a lot of her videos and was fascinated by her breath-holding skills, her presence, but especially her awesome tail, which was made by the ever-talented MIKE VAN DAAL. It was then I really discovered the Mer-community and what it was all about, as well as the many tail makers out there. I decided that I would give it a try too! When I first set out making them I decided I wasn't really going to make tails because everyone else was making them and I was going to be different, so I was going to just make the monofins, cause let's face it: the FIN/FLUKE is the best part of having a mermaid tail. While a lot of tail makers’ offer beautiful, but expensive tails, I made mine on a much cheaper scale. I don’t try to deny that they can't tear or become damaged; they're more of a 'starter' fin.

Meridian: Tell me more about your efforts with the Chesapeake Bay. (I used live in Virginia near Chesapeake Bay, you have my full attention!)

Merman Christian: I love Virginia Beach! Great Whale Watching, haha. Well when I set out to be Merman Christian I didn't just want to be a professional Merman, I wanted to take it to another level and give back to our waters. The Chesapeake Bay is such a busy watershed, and while it offers beauty with its blue crabs, tidal marshes, and many other birds and wildlife, it also has a dark side to it when it comes to people dumping anything and everything into it, and that’s what I'm trying to gain awareness for. I went on an Aquarium outing to go and clean up the tidal marshes around Fort McHenry (home of the Star-Spangled Banner), and it was just constant trash floating in from the bay, it was really awful. We would get an area clean, and then within an hour it looked just as it did when we started. I want to be a spokesperson for keeping the bay clean and I picked the Merman symbol because it's something everyone can associate with, especially children!

The Winner of the First Merman of the Month Contest,
hosted by Merman Minerals on Facebook!

Meridian: What is it like being an aquatic performer?

Merman Christian: Well I've done theatre and film work for many years, but I have never done anything like THIS! It's quite the haul and can be exhausting at times, I mean when you're strapped into a 40" wide fluke and skin-tight tail it's definitely a workout! I have a breath-hold of 3 minutes but my goal is to push it to 4. I get water up my nose, my eyes are blood-shot at the end of the day, but when it really boils down to it, I love it. It's like the ultimate connection with the water and the ocean, a form of escape. I'm pushing very hard to get the National Aquarium here in Baltimore to allow Mers. Mermaids are even bigger than ever now, and other aquariums are already starting to get in on it. We provide educational services about the oceans and who better than a Mermaid, or MERMAN to teach others about that. I've been currently talking to some pretty big people, so it's looking more and more positive each day.

Meridian: Where can people view your film/print work?

Merman Christian: Currently all my Merman work can be viewed on my Facebook page. But I'm in the process of getting some videos together too which I will be putting on Youtube, which is also where you can find some of my film work.

Meridian: Are you currently working on any conservation programs?

Merman Christian: I am currently a member of the ACT program at the aquarium, which is where we go out and clean up the marshlands, beaches and other bodies of water around the area.

Check out Merman Christian and stay connected:

www.facebook/mermanchristian

www.imdb.com (under CHRIS O'BROCKI)

Love, Peace, & Mermaids,

 Meridian

Things to Look For this Month!

“The Men behind the Mermaids: Tail Makers”

“Merman Minerals Review” and more blogs by Merman Ryan

“A Merman’s Guide to Preening”

Make sure you stop by Merman Minerals.com to check out all the products from shave creams to shampoos, this stuff isn’t for the Mermaids! Merman of the Month Contest in now in full swing, swim on over to Merman Minerals Facebook page to vote for your favorite Hunky Merman or Sultry Pirate.

Check back with Mermaid Talk for more blogs, photos, and adventure!

Leave a comment, stay connected and be sure to follow Meridian Mer-Gyver at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meridian.mergyver

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeridianMerGyve

LGBT Pride the Mermaid Way

 “I've held a 'Mermaid' by the hand, as she grew up - they do exist, but many have no tail, or scales, or cannot even swim. But they do find their place to stand, given time.”

Today, June 26th 2013 has left a monumental mark on history, the DOMA Act has been overturned! June is a month where spring is in the air, fathers are celebrated, and it is the month of Superman’s birth. It is also an entire month dedicated to the LGBT community and today gives us all something more to celebrate! The Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender and everyone else in between pride month! Here in California we have huge pride festivals all of over, Disneyland holds a special “gay day” and Parades line the streets of cities around the country.  While this a wonderful month to express your individuality, what does it have to do with mermaids?

EVERYTHING!

Coming out of the closet, transitioning from one gender to another and drag, all harkens back to the mermaid myths and mysterious power of TRANSITION.  From the very beginning legends have told us that mermaids hold the power of transition.  The Celtic Selkies are seals until they come on land and shed their seal form and YawksYawks of Australia are known as dancing mermaids, at night they emerge from the water with legs and dance about the land. Some stories tell us that if a mermaid dries out she will turn human and some mermaids do not have the power of transformation so they seek it out with a magic spell from a sea witch.  The heart and the very base of mermaids is the mystery behind their ability to transform and fit into two very different worlds.

><((((º> FIN FACT ><((((º>

The word Drag comes to us from William Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Women were not allowed on stage, so naturally young men would play the female roles. Marked next to the male actor's name who was to play the female role was... D.R.A.G or Dressed Resembling A Girl.

Alexis Mateo RuPaul's Drag Race

Some of us are familiar with one little girl…Jazz the Mermaid, is a little girl on big mission. Early on Jazz knew she had been born into the wrong body; thankfully her parents came to her rescue and raised her to be an outstanding young woman.

 Now in her teens, Jazz is an activist for http://www.transkidspurplerainbow.org/ an organization

 helping transgender children and their families. 

To read more about Jazz, check issue 5 of Tail Flip magazine http://issuu.com/t_obrecht/docs/tail_flip_issue_5  

or follow her on MerNetwork!

In the UK, a small group of families started a support group that took the ideas of transitions, mermaids, and strength and applied them to their children. Children who were struggling with idea that they had been born into the wrong gender, children who identified as the other sex and children who were scared and frightened because they weren't like anyone else.  It all began with one of founding families son when he asked….” his Mum (when he was about 9) 'Would you still love me if I was a Mermaid?' - on other words, no matter how different I am, will you still love me? When we were looking for a name, this was mentioned, and the then director of the clinic that sees our children (Domenico Di Ceglie) said that the Mermaid was a popular image among trans woman of all ages.” Quote by Linda, Mermaids Liaison.  Their brochure is full of poems, artwork and helpful information!

 Mermaid Brochure.pdf

All Mermaid.Uk.Org images and poems are copyrighted!

When you allow your children to grow up in a family that understands and accepts them for who they are it will benefit them greatly. 

Mermaidsuk.org.uk does just that. ….

Quoted from the website

Mermaids is a support group for gender variant children and teenagers, and their families.  Our goal is to relieve the mental and emotional stress of all persons aged 19 years and under who are in any manner affected by gender identity issues, and their families and to advance public education in the same.

To this end, Mermaids advocates: Let the child develop as he or she is naturally meant to, whilst loving and accepting them for who they are at the present time.  Seek help to alleviate any distress they may show.  Childhood is precious, and children should be allowed to enjoy it to the full.

In support of this we:

• Offer support to parents, families, carers and others.
• Raise awareness about gender issues amongst professionals (e.g. teachers, doctors, social services. etc.,) and the general public

§  Campaign for the recognition of this issue and an increase in professional services

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I love that Mermaidsuk.org.uk has taken the old myths and made them relevant to today’s issues. They are keeping out legends alive and at the same time our legends are keeping them alive.  These children will bring a future where hate crimes and sexual inequality are a thing of the past.  We must all learn to live and love together, it is not enough to tolerate we must embrace! To the LGBT Community and the Mermaid Community, I love, accept, and embrace all of you. 

Words from Mermaids (transgender children),

Quoted from the website

Day by Day

by Bree
Age 17

I dread the next day
I have come to dread everyday
for each one I live
the life of another not mine
I can never live
the life that first meant for me
this life I now live
is a prison unfamiliar
my soul is now trapped
in bones it never knew and foreign flesh the torture never dies and my hopeless cries cover my smile now and forever

Drawing by a Transgender Child

Sea Views

By DJ Kingsbury

I stare out into the sea
Wishing I'll be able to shine as me.
Though the outcome of who I am
Mixed with the nature
Of the cruelty of this world,
I just don't want to exist any more.
So I stare out into the sea
Wishing to reel in a part of me.
Only to fall out of it again.

Personal Account

By a Former Mermaids Member
Now in their 20's

How's about starting a normal life?
But won't starting in the middle always be difficult?
But I suppose I never thought life would be so, well - tricky!
What happens when the only thought that occupies your mind is
"I WANT TO BE NORMAL!"
and suddenly you realize that's the only thing you'll NEVER be. Of course you have friends offering to help.
But when they will never truly understand, what's the point?
As soon as you get close to normality somebody moves the barriers.
Sometimes I try to convince myself that I am normal,
it's just the ones who don't understand or don't try to,
who aren't normal.
Somehow, I never can truly convince myself enough. But when I ask for help what happens?
Nothing.
Exactly. Perhaps I'm being selfish, stubborn, paranoid, or one of the thousand other things I've been called.
Why does it all have to be so f****** hard?

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These words are hard to read and even harder when you are the one who feels them, celebrate peoples difference, be curious not cruel and remember we are all of the same flesh and blood.

Love, Peace, and Mermaids,

    Meridian Mer-Gyver

Ps. there is a new book coming out “Mermaid Drowning” by Terry & Tiffany Jacobs. It is about a transgender woman coming to terms with her secret after 10 years of blissful marriage and three children. If you have a Kindle you can purchase the book through Amazon, otherwise you will have to wait for the hard copy!