Wait…the Little Mermaid was trans? (part 2 of 4)
It won’t cost you much…JUST YOUR VOICE
Look at this face Isn’t it neat? Wouldn’t you say my transition’s complete? Wouldn’t you say I’m a girl? A girl who has…almost everything?
This article owes just about every inch of gratitude I can spare to the phenomenal writer, poet, and champion for anyone who loves to sing: Jenny Starr. Her ideas, insights, and experiences helped all of us at Transgender Soapbox see The Little Mermaid in a new way.
As for me, I’ll tell you how to support Transgender Soapbox at the end.
READ PART 1 FIRST!
Hey, I know you’ve seen the movie a million times, but this is not the same story. Read part 1 first or forever be demoted to the back of Sebastian’s chorus.
LET’S GET STARTED!
SUMMARY OF PART 1
AND NOW: WAIT…THE LITTLE MERMAID WAS TRANS?? PART 2 (of 4)
“It won’t cost you much…just your choice.”
The sea witch’s reputation preceded her. Ursula gave many what they wanted most. There was always a cost, but Ariel’s body had taught her everything else had a cost, too.
Did they really think that whatever she sacrificed for Ursula would be worse than what she got in return? No one got to choose the terms available to them. At least not unless Ursula empowered them to do so.
She offered people an impossible choice to change their fates.
Whatever the cost, it would be worth it.
Ariel would finally be a girl. And not just in the limited ways available to her.
She would escape what for her had become an eternal limbo. Because finally, her heart had found something it loved as much as her own voice.
And he had a name.
“But Daddy, I love him!”
The storm had rocked the ship. Broken it into pieces. Sent its prince into the sea and into her arms.
“Eric.”
She stayed with him until he woke up. She held his head in the crook of her arm and sang to him in her sweetest, lowest tones. After only using that girl-toned voice for so long, this buzzy one felt somehow like freedom.
All because she’d come to the surface. Taken a chance on this human. And sang to him with the truest part of herself.
But knew how this worked. Her father had told her over and over and over. She could be whichever she wanted, but she had to CHOOSE.
Boy. Girl. One or the other. Her sisters and her father and anyone else who knew her secrets would still love her.
But anyone else? A boy outside her tiny bubble?
She only had to remember her father’s reaction to her dysphoria for her to see what had to be done.
“Life’s full of tough choices, isn’t it?”
Ursula said, “Sure, but why listen to him?”
Ariel just looked at her. “Well…he’s my father.”
“You could still see Eric without breaking your father’s spell. Have your crab cake and eat it, too.” She shrugged her shoulders and her tentacles. “Maybe just go home, little girl.”
Never had Ariel thought she’d feel HURT being called a girl.
A quiet, sunken feeling opened up in her stomach. This wasn’t what she’d wanted. Not at all.
Wasn’t the sea witch supposed to WANT a new victim?
“I want Eric to love me for who I really am,” Ariel said.
“That’s what I’m saying, darling. Swim up to the shore twice a year and let Eric love you for who you already are.”
A heated fury like a broken crack in the sea bed rose out of Ariel. “No!”
Ursula took a tiny step back. Even a sea witch could feel intimidated, it seemed. “I’m listening,” she said.
After a moment, Ariel said, “It isn’t just my dad. It’s everyone. It’s everything.”
Ursula’s tentacles wrapped around her in a comforting embrace, ready for a story that could make the difference in what happened next.
NEXT: WAIT…THE LITTLE MERMAID WAS TRANS? PART 3 (of 4)
THE END (DAMN GIRL, THAT’S DARK)
Hi, it’s Stephenie!
Believe it or not, I do this for a living. Here’s how you can support me.
