With all of the romance, lust, mystery, and occasional danger folded into nearly every mermaid tale, it’s somewhat easy to explain our fixation on these characters. But where the stories ensnare us all is in how one-dimensional they can be, especially when it comes to surface level mermaid archetypes, which are often full of hyper-sexualization, body image expectations, and heteronormative gender roles. Dive in with us past the surface level narratives we’ve learned about merfolk, and explore deeper waters.
Featured in this Episode:
Gabriel Rivera / Nymphia the Nautilus Mermaid
- Instagram: @nautilusseanymph
- TikTok: @nautilusseanymph
- Facebook: Nymphia: The Nautilus Mermaid
Benjamin Radford
- Website: www.benjaminradford.com
- Podcast: Squaring the Strange Episode 143: Merfolk, Merfact, Merfiction
- Article: Live Science - Mermaids & Mermen: Facts & Legends
Oak Honey
- TikTok: @oakhoney
- Instagram: @oakhoneyy
About Our Sponsor:
- Janji aims to explore, connect, and give back by crafting comfortable, responsibly-produced running apparel guided by the places we run and the people we meet.
- Get 15% off your next order of Janji with code SEXOUTSIDE at checkout
Additional Resources:
- Medium - The History of Mermaids Isn’t What You Think It Is
- Performing Humanity - Mermaids & Sirens: Women’s Relationship with Water from Myth to Renaissance
- About the Siren TV series
- MerNetwork
- Mermaids - supporting transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse children, young people, and their families since 1995.
Let’s be friends:
- We want you to be a part of the Sex Outside community!
- Find Sex Outside on Instagram! @sexoutsidepod
- Connect with us on TikTok: @sexoutsidepod
- Check out what we’ve saved for you on Pinterest
- Want to support Sex Outside?
- Leave a 5-star review in Apple Podcasts or the app of your choosing!
- Head to the Sex Outside Shop to find stickers, shirts, and underwear!
- Need a transcript for this episode? Find it here.
Hosted and produced by Laura Borichevsky.
Cover artwork by Hailey Hirst.
Music by The Wild Wild, Timbre, and Wavcrush, licensed via MusicBed.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.