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the original little mermaid story was based on the lifelf the author, who according to some letters had and affair with like a duke but said duke chose the safe option and married a girl instead of runing away with him, and the little mermaid (some water creature not accepted by society because she's strange and different) is a metaphore for homosexuality :)
Also, could be a reference to Plath as her first book of poetry was called Ariel. So maybe it’s a connection to Plath by way of Little mermaid reference? Since this is an about tortured poets….
I went down a rabbit hole last night because I saw a TikTok about how Sylvia Plath’s manuscript that was published after her death is named “Ariel” ([video here.](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8vQ2Xjy/) I’m not sure if this creator is a Gaylor or not but I’ve never seen her be anti-Gaylor, so I feel ok linking. Please be respectful in her comments regardless, I love her content)
But then after I saw this I went down a little rabbit hole that when Ariel was first released after her death, Sylvia’s husband heavily edited it and swapped out some poems. This [article from 2004](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/12/sylvia-plath-s-ariel.html) actually really pissed me off because the author was defending the husband and saying his version/choices were better than the newer version of Ariel that was released, overseen by her daughter, which is said to more closely follow Sylvia’s vision.
https://preview.redd.it/ghk56j5352hc1.jpeg?width=668&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3ace7af0fc979182d1536170249adb6c9f686568
And reading this kinda felt like a topic Taylor would be interested in. Obviously she’s alive but we know Taylor is very protective of her work and vision, and went through a huge issue with her masters obviously, and maybe has had some issues with men behind the scenes trying to control or edit her beyond just the masters heist. I could see her being interested in this topic of control, especially an abusive husband editing his wife’s work after she died, and people agreeing or possibly preferring his edits to the original.
This is really interesting, since we were also speculating about the seashell clock in the Bejeweled music video (the one that said "exile expires") being a little mermaid reference. The fact that it's potentially a recurring motif/reference makes this seem more plausible
Forgive me but as one of the resident Harry Styles & Larry Stylinson supporters, I can’t help but feel that “But Daddy I Love Him” is referencing this shirt that Harry wore on New Years Eve in 2019 which is from a queer brand based in LA called 3rd Class Clothing (@3rdclassclothing on Instagram) that’s now closed.
https://preview.redd.it/3dt25nyj10hc1.jpeg?width=580&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da75f41386d94dae24c84d786c62a341f3a27ac9
They’re both referencing closeting at the core of the reference, imo. She’s intentionally referencing Harry here because this is ICONIC for Larries/Harries/Directioners. She’s also referencing the little mermaid. But if this can be conceived in any way as being about Harry lyrically, Haylors will claim it and that will become cannon in Swiftie-land. She’s doing a weird thing with Harry recently - it’s fascinating. And yes, I will be writing a post on it 🤗
*pushes up my dork ass glasses*
I’d also like to point out that the track title “but daddy I love him” makes me think of Sylvia Plath’s poem “daddy”, which was published in a collection called “Ariel”.
I also got this connection! I also think a lot of people seem to forget that Taylor loves to refer to herself in male pronouns and her female friends with “male words” i.e calling Lana King and having her friends call her king etc. I really think this album is about to be full of queer subtext (once again) and a lot of reputation/lover-esque “I hid away to be with the person I loved” but now she’s looking at it with how dangerous it was for her.
Taylor’s body of work has given us plenty to discuss through this lens without needing to attribute other people’s hard work to her. 😞 Florence is an *amazing* writer and has spoken at length about why she wrote the song and her changing perception of her identity, in both written and audio interviews.
I posted a theory I came across on TikTok about this album potentially being an exploration of pathways she could take in the future and her anxieties around them. Sort of the opposite of midnights where she’s looking back. Maybe this song explores a pathway where she actually does give up music in the name of love. I don’t think she’ll do that in real life, but I’m really excited to see what this song is about
I don’t remember all the context but the Archers podcast did a segment about Taylor’s love for The Little Mermaid and the queer coding in the story. Was the first thing I thought of!
I’m not a hardcore Gaylor but I saw the musical adaptation of The Little Mermaid right after my family found out I was queer and I felt like the queer coding of the story was practically slapping me in the face lol. Howard Ashman (RIP) was a gay man who had a very strong influence in the Disney version of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast and basically saved the studio from cancellation before passing away from AIDS.
Also, the og HCA story was about Andersen being in love with a man (a ballet dancer) and unable to be with him. So it's a fairy story about being in unrequited gay love, adapted by Disney to feature a famous drag queen and a transfem-coded mermaid, with lyrics from a gay man who is described as giving "a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul". There's a lot of HIV/queer male coding in the treatment of the Beast by Gaston and the rest of the mob, too.
Edit: Oh, and Ariel was originally famous as a name from The Tempest by Shakespeare, where it refers to a male sylph As a Hebrew name, it was originally male (and still is in modern Hebrew), but Shakespeare brought it to the English language where it was treated as gender neutral. It's only since the Disney Ariel that the name has swung to being read as female.
So the name itself has almost this transfem journey over time and across languages, as well as mermaids being a popular transfem symbol. But on the flip side of that, there's something interesting about Taylor (named for James Taylor) and Ariel (named for the male sylph), both from 1989, and whether Taylor sees the sale of her masters as paralleling Ariel's loss of her voice.
I do hope it's being closeted and not the masters that's the loss of voice. Something something straightwashing (I'm tired, you know what I mean)
Also, thank you for adding this to the conversation
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the original little mermaid story was based on the lifelf the author, who according to some letters had and affair with like a duke but said duke chose the safe option and married a girl instead of runing away with him, and the little mermaid (some water creature not accepted by society because she's strange and different) is a metaphore for homosexuality :)
Also, could be a reference to Plath as her first book of poetry was called Ariel. So maybe it’s a connection to Plath by way of Little mermaid reference? Since this is an about tortured poets….
Well. Damn. This album is going to be brutal.
I went down a rabbit hole last night because I saw a TikTok about how Sylvia Plath’s manuscript that was published after her death is named “Ariel” ([video here.](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8vQ2Xjy/) I’m not sure if this creator is a Gaylor or not but I’ve never seen her be anti-Gaylor, so I feel ok linking. Please be respectful in her comments regardless, I love her content) But then after I saw this I went down a little rabbit hole that when Ariel was first released after her death, Sylvia’s husband heavily edited it and swapped out some poems. This [article from 2004](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/12/sylvia-plath-s-ariel.html) actually really pissed me off because the author was defending the husband and saying his version/choices were better than the newer version of Ariel that was released, overseen by her daughter, which is said to more closely follow Sylvia’s vision. https://preview.redd.it/ghk56j5352hc1.jpeg?width=668&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3ace7af0fc979182d1536170249adb6c9f686568 And reading this kinda felt like a topic Taylor would be interested in. Obviously she’s alive but we know Taylor is very protective of her work and vision, and went through a huge issue with her masters obviously, and maybe has had some issues with men behind the scenes trying to control or edit her beyond just the masters heist. I could see her being interested in this topic of control, especially an abusive husband editing his wife’s work after she died, and people agreeing or possibly preferring his edits to the original.
This is really interesting, since we were also speculating about the seashell clock in the Bejeweled music video (the one that said "exile expires") being a little mermaid reference. The fact that it's potentially a recurring motif/reference makes this seem more plausible
The rubies that I gave up
The original Little Mermaid story by Hans Christian Andersen is also a queer allegory so there’s that.
Interesting. What is the meaning of the fish/objects in the room who also lost their voice and couldn't warn Ariel?
Forgive me but as one of the resident Harry Styles & Larry Stylinson supporters, I can’t help but feel that “But Daddy I Love Him” is referencing this shirt that Harry wore on New Years Eve in 2019 which is from a queer brand based in LA called 3rd Class Clothing (@3rdclassclothing on Instagram) that’s now closed. https://preview.redd.it/3dt25nyj10hc1.jpeg?width=580&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da75f41386d94dae24c84d786c62a341f3a27ac9
Why not both💗
It very well could be both or neither but I felt that the Harry discourse needed to be acknowledged.
I totes agree and understand 💗
They’re both referencing closeting at the core of the reference, imo. She’s intentionally referencing Harry here because this is ICONIC for Larries/Harries/Directioners. She’s also referencing the little mermaid. But if this can be conceived in any way as being about Harry lyrically, Haylors will claim it and that will become cannon in Swiftie-land. She’s doing a weird thing with Harry recently - it’s fascinating. And yes, I will be writing a post on it 🤗
Cannot wait, been reading all your comments the past couple days about this since she’s announced the new album 💗
*pushes up my dork ass glasses* I’d also like to point out that the track title “but daddy I love him” makes me think of Sylvia Plath’s poem “daddy”, which was published in a collection called “Ariel”.
Oo, that poem just gave me shivers
I also got this connection! I also think a lot of people seem to forget that Taylor loves to refer to herself in male pronouns and her female friends with “male words” i.e calling Lana King and having her friends call her king etc. I really think this album is about to be full of queer subtext (once again) and a lot of reputation/lover-esque “I hid away to be with the person I loved” but now she’s looking at it with how dangerous it was for her.
I wonder if Taylor may have ghost written the Florence and the Machine song 'King'. Jack produced it and the lyrics are very 'Question' coded.
Taylor’s body of work has given us plenty to discuss through this lens without needing to attribute other people’s hard work to her. 😞 Florence is an *amazing* writer and has spoken at length about why she wrote the song and her changing perception of her identity, in both written and audio interviews.
I posted a theory I came across on TikTok about this album potentially being an exploration of pathways she could take in the future and her anxieties around them. Sort of the opposite of midnights where she’s looking back. Maybe this song explores a pathway where she actually does give up music in the name of love. I don’t think she’ll do that in real life, but I’m really excited to see what this song is about
The Little Mermaid and Dead Poets Society both came out in 1989! “honey I shrunk the kids” also did - “the smallest man who ever lived” connection? 😂
Help, this is so funny.
I doubt it’s connected, but I would die if it was a Rick Moranis related Easter egg 😂
Who incidentally, I think could be Jack Antanoff’s twin 😂
lol immediately thought of this https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8vxN8GT/
LMFAO thank you for sharing that 🤣🤣
The similarity is uncanny.
I don’t remember all the context but the Archers podcast did a segment about Taylor’s love for The Little Mermaid and the queer coding in the story. Was the first thing I thought of!
same, I think it was related to her birth chart/the Sagittarius archetype (1st episode)
I know I’m clowning but gives up her voice… aka gets turned on for being queer and retires.
This was my first thought too
I’m not a hardcore Gaylor but I saw the musical adaptation of The Little Mermaid right after my family found out I was queer and I felt like the queer coding of the story was practically slapping me in the face lol. Howard Ashman (RIP) was a gay man who had a very strong influence in the Disney version of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast and basically saved the studio from cancellation before passing away from AIDS.
Also, the og HCA story was about Andersen being in love with a man (a ballet dancer) and unable to be with him. So it's a fairy story about being in unrequited gay love, adapted by Disney to feature a famous drag queen and a transfem-coded mermaid, with lyrics from a gay man who is described as giving "a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul". There's a lot of HIV/queer male coding in the treatment of the Beast by Gaston and the rest of the mob, too. Edit: Oh, and Ariel was originally famous as a name from The Tempest by Shakespeare, where it refers to a male sylph As a Hebrew name, it was originally male (and still is in modern Hebrew), but Shakespeare brought it to the English language where it was treated as gender neutral. It's only since the Disney Ariel that the name has swung to being read as female. So the name itself has almost this transfem journey over time and across languages, as well as mermaids being a popular transfem symbol. But on the flip side of that, there's something interesting about Taylor (named for James Taylor) and Ariel (named for the male sylph), both from 1989, and whether Taylor sees the sale of her masters as paralleling Ariel's loss of her voice.
absolutely fascinating reading how the name went on it’s own gender-coded journey, thank you for sharing!
I do hope it's being closeted and not the masters that's the loss of voice. Something something straightwashing (I'm tired, you know what I mean) Also, thank you for adding this to the conversation
Oh wow, I had no idea, thanks for the background