Transgender Bodies in "The Little Mermaid" and ​Swim Thru Fire

Abstract

Swim Thru Fire, a web comic published in 2015 by Annie Mok and Sophia Foster-Dimino, takes inspiration from transgender interpretations of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” prompting an analysis of both the adaptation and its predecessor. A transgender reading of Andersen’s story highlights the identity binary of humans and mermaids, as well as the discrimination faced by the little mermaid when she tries to transition from mermaid to human, elements that are similar to transgender experiences. Mok and Foster-Dimino’s work then uses this interpretation to rewrite the story with a transgender mermaid as its protagonist, and draws direct attention to relevant transgender issues while pushing the tale further to advocate for gender diversity.