In Merpeople “A Human History” the historical background of mermaids is discussed and has brought a great amount of new perspectives. Prior to this my understanding of mermaids was slim to none, sure I have enjoyed fictional works with mermaids, but I have never questioned the history behind these creatures. After studying this I am fascinated but also not surprised as the traditional views of women remain similar to the historic understanding mermaids. The way that mermaids are perceived as sexual and objective is similar to the way that women were, and still are, viewed in life and various fictions. Similarly, stereotypes between mermen and man linger simultaneously. The idea that they are with “lust for sex and power”( Scribner,11) does not fall short of how they are perceived in a non-mermaid world. With that being said, there are ways were I can connect the two and reiterate that merpeople are used “to gain a deeper understanding of one of the mysterious, capricious and dangerous creatures on Earth: humans( Scribner, 7).
On the contrary, there are surely some ideas that have come to my surprise. Specifically, the fact that religion plays great a role in the history of mermaids. What specifically caught my attention is how the Christian Church typically encourages a modest, more reserved lifestyle yet the mermaid was deemed such a sexual creature. Considering my lack of previous study on this topic, I am interested to see how mermaids are perceived and understood in different religions apart from the Disney films I have seen. I guess my knowledge also comes from a very specific type of mermaid film, and one thats audience is much younger. I am excited to broaden my understanding and learn more about this character.
Hi Kayla, I was as surprised as you when I saw how objectified and stereotyped mermaids are! I think that this class will definitely broaden our horizon and that we will learn a lot!
Wonderful to see you recognizing not just your own view of mermaids but WHERE and HOW you came to possess that view. This is the larger, meta-critical aspect of knowledge and education. Thank you for sharing your reflections in learning.
Hi Kayla, I also found it surprising to see how sexualized mermaids are, as I have always just seen them as foreign beings given the fact that they are mostly in fantasy worlds. I was also very surprised to see how much influence the Christian Church had on the formation of our current day mermaids. If someone had asked me two weeks ago about what I thought had the greatest influence on our present day perception of mermaids, I would have never guessed the Christian Church.