After reading both assigned readings I enjoyed how Cristina Bacchilega and Marie Alohalani introduce mermaids as a species that haven’t been completely understood to its full capacity. Fear of the unknown is the best way to describe Merpeople, in this case, mermaids/sirend and the cautious yet curious feeling towards them, predominantly fear.

However, I find it interesting how the feeling of fear towards mermaids/sirens turned into disgust and hatred. As mentioned in The Penguin Book of Mermaids, prostitutes were referenced to as mermaids due to their sex appeal and seductive powers, which is how mermaids/sirens are represented doing to lead men to their deaths. This “likewise attests to how a woman who oversteps the boundaries of gender propriety has, over centuries, risked being defined as monstrous.” (Bacchilega & Alohalani XIII) Not only the unruly women in land were in danger to be classified as monsters but also those of water that didn’t follow the “norm” of pleasing and obeying men. It baffles me how open men were with their hatred towards women and their need to remind them how much they did, “you live here on earth as the world’s most imperfect creature: the scum of nature…” (Scribner 61) It is unfortunate how a feminine mythical creature was used as a mascot for the defamation of women and lasted throughout all those centuries, yet even though still recent mermaids and sirens have now become an image of feminine empowerment to slowly but surely heal that generational wound.