La Voce to Me

 Until recently, I had never seen The Little Mermaid. All of my trans friends said it was a transgender narrative, but the little bits and pieces I’d seen when it was on in the background at my friend’s house growing up… it just never spoke to me.

Of course, I didn’t realize I was nonbinary back then, and was still years away from puberty making the gender dysphoria kick in. So maybe it was speaking, but I wasn't listening.

I kind of came to resent the idea that Ariel is such a trans icon because the story always felt ableist to me. She can’t find love unless she can walk? Seriously?

So I wrote a poem about how much I never identified with Ariel.

I’ve since seen the movie and quite enjoyed it (read my live tweet here). I can still see how I saw the ableist interpretation, but it’s less about not being able to find love until you can walk, and more about not being able to love yourself in a body that doesn’t have the right parts.

La Voce to Me is available to read for free at Mermaids Monthly.

(Oh, and may I just point out that I’m sharing a table of contents with Seanan McGuire!?)