Page 52 - Fins Magazine: Fins Magazine Issue #4

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Mindfulness
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for M e r ma i ds w. Merbassador Ms.Faelyn M er fo lk s up p o r t fr om a mermaid therap is t
Mermaids
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Merfolk support from a mermaid therapist
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Imposter Syndrome less you have a silicone tail” is a common form of
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gatekeeping which aims to exclude those of lesser
financial privilege or experience.
COLUMN: Mindfulness
for Mermaids with Ms. he mermaid community is similar to many It calls to mind that infamous scene in Mean Girls,
Faelyn Tother communities formed around hobbies. creating a message of “you can’t swim with us”
For the majority there is a widespread feeling of
welcoming acceptance, excitement in the exchange This leads to feelings of inferiority amongst new
of ideas, and a sense of belonging. hobbyist mermaids, who may have previously been
perfectly content with homemade or beginner train-
ing tails.
However, there are also more toxic behavior pat-
terns and influences, regrettably our community is
no exception. Alternatively, there has been a wave of new mem-
bers within the last few years who have been dis-
couraged from their dream tails solely because an
In this first segment, we wanted to discuss gatekeep-
ing and imposter syndrome. older, established mer-person has a similar design
based on a real fish.
Let’s first begin by providing some general informa- Within the last calendar year alone, there
tion on these terms.
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At Fins M a g a z i n e , we have been feuds over who gets to be a
Magazine,
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recognize the importance of mandarin goby, clownfish, blue tang, or
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Gatekeeping within the com- c o e m n m u n i t y e , s p e i inclusion, t h a n d koi fish.
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wellness especially in these
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munity can be seen when one t troubling times. The purpose

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of this recurring segment will
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person makes another feel ex- o f t h t o s r d e i c u u r s i n g i s se u g e m e n t i t w i i n l And let’s just be honest, it’s become
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cluded, or limits access to infor- t the community with honesty

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and transparency, and provide
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mation, ideas, or events based s u p p o r t a s w e l l a s r e so u r c e s . o-fish-ally ridiculous at this point.
support as well as resources.
on arbitrary criteria.
The most heartbreaking thing to see is the impact
of these gatekeeping behaviors on new or hobbyist
Imposter syndrome refers to the feeling that you mermaids.
are not good enough, not deserving of successes
earned, or are somehow a fraud. It is difficult to
linger for too long within any of the plethora of When discussion groups are filled with posts of
mermaid online groups without seeing an exam- merfolk being bullied by seniors in the communi-
ple of these two behaviors. ty, apologizing before sharing photos because they
“didn’t pose better”, or being excluded from per-
forming due to a lack of a more expensive “real”
Sadly the phrase, “You’re not a real mermaid un-
tail, it is then that we as a community know that we
FINS|52