Fin-tastic! Growing 'mermaiding' subculture makes a splash

By KRISTEN GELINEAU, Associated Press SYDNEY — There was a pivotal moment in Queen Pangke Tabora's life that eclipsed all others: It was the moment, she says, when she first slid her legs into a mermaid tail.

People are also reading… On a planet plagued by war, disease and social upheaval, many merfolk have found life in the water a refuge. Perhaps Sebastian, the ornery crab in the 1989 film"The Little Mermaid," said it best in his warning to land-loving mermaid Ariel:"The human world, it's a mess. Life under the sea is better than anything they got up there!"

After all, the ocean is vast, she notes, and most of the planet is covered in water. So why not dive in?The lure of mermaiding is clear from the Montreal home of Marielle Henault, which is stuffed to the gills with mermaid tails. As mermaiding went mainstream, glamorous photos of mermaids resplendent in glitzy tails began gaining traction on social media, further fuelling mer-mania. An obsession with"The Little Mermaid" is common among merfolk, and there is anticipation of a fresh wave of mermaiding interest when a live action reboot of the film is released next year.

Last weekend, masses of merfolk swarmed the streets of New York for the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade. And mermaid conventions are now held globally. Last month, more than 300 merfolk from across the U.S. and Canada attended the California Mermaid Convention, which was, as convention co-founder Rachel Smith described it,"a three-day 'shell-ebration' of everything mermaid.

Nymphia would later discover a diverse community of like-minded mers online, and, on the suggestion of her mother, turned her lifelong obsession into a profession. The Los Angeles-based Nymphia has since appeared at everything from children's parties to corporate events, and in 2019 served as a trans merfolk ambassador at the California Mermaid Convention.

"As transgender, it's a transition," Tabora says."It's like in the sea, everything evolves. The fish evolve, the coral evolves." Hygema advises merfolk to always have a trusted companion, or"mertender," while performing in a tail.

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