Mermaid-loving Halle Bailey has a digital cover in the May 2023 issue of Vogue Arabia. The fabulous young talent is styled by Julia Müller in luxury looks from Chanel, David Koma, Jil Sander, Schiaparelli, Valdrin Sahiti, Valentino and more for images by The Morelli Brothers [IG]. / Hair by Tinisha Meeks; makeup by Christiana Cassell

Bailey is interviewed by Selina Julien for The Little Mermaid‘s Halle Bailey on Her Casting Controversy, Style Evolution, and Lessons from Beyoncé.

The lead-in text of “Reinventing Ariel for a new generation” are not words that AOC fancies in this moment — although I used them in the British Vogue presentation.

After lots of reflection, I am clear that “reinvent” actually makes my argument more difficult in this perilous time. Advocating that the true story of America’s racist history be told and not banned in red states puts me in a place of believing in historical truths.

As a word reinvention is “the act of producing something new based on something that already exists, or the new thing that is produced”, via Cambridge dictionary. Maybe I am wrong, but it seems like a slippery slope — the word, not the action.

My position with Ariel is that based on my studying of Hans Christian Andersen and having new reading from Andersen delivered to me — ‘Two Dramas. The Mulatto and The Moorish Girl’ — there is zero reason to take the position the ‘The Little Mermaid’ could not have been portrayed as a young creature of color in 1950 or in 1875, the year the author passed.

The problem is societal racism but not the author’s racism. And even people of color are jumping to conclusions about the author, which are presently unfounded. White people have the most simplistic argment: that Andersen was Danish and therefore Ariel was white.

AOC goes deeply into this discussion in our V Magazine #142 presentation of Halle Bailey and the mermaid controversy.

Halle Bailey recently said that is was so important for her to have her hair natural — her locs — as part of being Ariel. With few exceptions, mermaids in art have long hair, and it’s more often curly than straight, even among 19th century artists.

We should not be totally intoxicated with the mermaid story. The mermaid path historically is away from power and influence not into it. But she is a positive creature who rescues drowning men and acts as his helpmate. Don’t worry, AOC will not cancel mermaids.

Mermaids are like Eves [as in Adam and Eve] compared to Sirens who are like Lilith — Adam’s first wife in the Old Testament. Lilith represents the goddesses and women who refused to submit to patriarchy. It seems I must write a post on Sirens and Mermaids. ~ Anne