For thousands of years, mermaids were apex predators whose voices could kill. Then somewhere between Homer's bone-littered shores and Disney's underwater utopia, something fundamental changed. How did creatures who used their voices as weapons become princesses who'd sacrifice that voice for a boyfriend?
In this second part of our mermaid deep-dive (pardon the pun), we trace the evolution from ancient sirens to modern Disney princesses, exploring how Christianity sexualised these water spirits, how the Romantic movement made them tragic, and how capitalism turned them into merchandise. Using ecofeminist theory, we'll unpack how domesticating mermaids mirrors how patriarchal societies have learned to control both women and nature itself.
From Christopher Columbus rating mermaids' attractiveness to Ursula getting penetrated by a phallic ship, this episode reveals how the same systems that oppress people also destroy the environment — and why creatures that refuse binary categorisation make patriarchy very, very nervous.
Key moments
- 0:59 – Sirens on a bone-littered shore
- 6:30 – The siren's voice: From deadly song to sexual temptation
- 7:34 – Mermaids, Christianity, and Christopher Columbus
- 12:30 – Enter Hans Christian Andersen
- 14:48 – Disney's "The Little Mermaid": All heart, no brains
- 17:25 – Ecofeminism and environmental justice
- 22:39 – How dualism maintains oppression
- 25:53 – How boundary-crossers threaten the patriarchy
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