Julián is a Mermaid

Jessica Love’s Julián is a Mermaid is an elegant picture book about a young Afro-Latinx boy, Julián, who loves mermaids. In soft colors and gentle edges, Love creates a dream-like story tugging our heart strings. He dreams of letting his hair free and swimming in the ocean, as shown in dreamy, paint-like illustrations. Upon seeing three beautiful women on the subway dressed as mermaids, Julián reports to his abuela, “I am also a mermaid” (Love, 2018). After seeing these women, he arranges leaves and flowers to resemble long, flowing hair, dons a popping purple pout, and ties a curtain around his waist like a lacy mermaid’s tail. Julián's abuela enters, and the reader’s breath is bound to catch as Julián is discovered dressed in false hair and a tail-like wrap. His abuela, instead of shaming or shushing him, offers him a pearl necklace, and takes him to see a parade of mermaids, saying, “Like you, mijo. Let’s join them.” In this tender moment, his abuela’s complete acceptance and encouragement makes some of us smile, but apparently, not everyone. 

Love was inspired by this book upon hearing about her trans friend’s experience of transition to be a man late in his life, alongside episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race. She tossed around ideas of the young boy encountering drag queens until she stumbled upon the symbolism of a mermaid within the trans community. Love has been drawn to mermaids, and says, “there’s something about mermaids. Who knows if that’s because they’re magical creatures who can live between two realities or because they don’t have any genitals, or because they’re f***ing great” (Pink News 2019). Mermaids became symbolic in the trans community due to having nothing but a tail, and the Disney film The Little Mermaid gained more significance: it portrays a main character desiring to discard her tails for legs to change her form an entire half of her body. Such symbolism seemed to ring true in Julián's narrative. 

While Love’s story can be read as a portrayal of the transgender experience, it can also simply read as a boy expressing his curiosity or love for mermaids, bringing a wide audience of readers-children and adult alike. 

Although this charming book has been winning hearts and awards alike, awards such as the 2019 Stonewall Book Award, many were upset with the depiction of the transgender experience. A blogger known as “The Book Toss”, states “by creating this almost immediate acceptance, Jessica Love negated the real struggle so many Latinx LGBTQ people must go through. Is that is [sic] the message the author is trying to send? Probably. But, it lands flat to me. For me, this comes from a place of privilege that would rather a mermaid trope carry the message and ignore the very real issues at work” (Blog, 2018). 

Despite the potential controversy, we immediately fell for young Julián and his desire to become a mermaid. With messages of tolerance and love, his imagination calls the reader to think outside their prescribed norms to show us that perhaps anyone can be a mermaid. We invite you to open this book and your mind to Love’s beautiful picture book. 

(SS)

Works Cited:

Jackman, Josh. “ Trans Kids’ Book ‘Julián Is a Mermaid’ Is Winning Hearts and Awards .” PinkNews, 17 Feb. 2019, www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/02/17/trans-kids-book-julian-is-a-mermaid-awards/.

Love, Jessica. Julián Is a Mermaid. Candlewick, 2018.

“Trans People Aren't Mythical Creatures.” BookToss, 24 Sept. 2018, booktoss.blog/2018/09/24/trans-people-arent-mythical-creatures/.