The Washington Post has published a new piece today on the rise of “mermaiding” in the D.C. area, a childhood pastime that has become the latest way adults are coping with stress.
The article titled "In a stressful human world, 'mermaiding' gains popularity in D.C. area," the Post details how many adults, looking to escape the hustle of DC, meet up and play.
Amid an era of escalating stress in which live-action role-playing and other forms of cosplay are a popular escape, “mermaiding” is spreading through the Washington region — its lure attracting merfolk who are either looking for a unique form of exercise, a deep sense of community or something to take them out of their everyday human lives.
Regular activities that people do to reduce stress, like working out, running, going on walks or hikes, and hanging out with friends and family, aren't enough for these people. They need to slip into their "'mersona,' take some 'shellfies' with friends, and let their creativity flow just for the sake of the enjoyment of playing."
'Living here is fast; everything is fast. There’s traffic. There’s so many people, and it feels so suffocating sometimes,' said Montara Hewgill, a Gaithersburg resident who does supply-chain work for a company that makes space equipment. 'But, to escape into something magical, anything as far from this reality as you can, feels really nice, even if it’s just for a couple of hours.'
The article tells us that the mermaids of the Washington area have the second highest population, right behind Florida. The Metro MerFolk Facebook group is used to set up their meetings where nearly 1,000 members, including women, men, and "nonbinary people," can meet up to swim in "a pod." Colleen McCartney, the founder of the group, who goes by "the Celtic Siren," says that it's simply a group for people to have fun.
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'It was just creating space for people to have fun,' McCartney said. 'There’s also a lot of people who needed a place to feel accepted, whether they were neurodivergent or they were the alphabet mafia, the LGBTQIA — finding a place that you can let your guard down and actually get in touch with your inner child and play. That’s not a space that exists very often.'
In the end, it's adults in tails, swimming, and pretending to be mermaids. So what exactly is the Washington Post trying to tell us? Is this a quirky lifestyle piece, or a quiet admission of a growing mental health crisis in the capital? Are we meant to be concerned about a concerning drift from reality? Or should we be bracing for calls to expand legal protections for the Merfolk?
We may never know.
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