Gender Nonconformity in Julián Is a Mermaid

Julián Is a Mermaid is a heartwarming story about a little boy, Julián, who loves mermaids so much that he wants to be one. Every Saturday morning, he rides the subway with his grandmother to go swimming, but one day, on the way back, he is enchanted by the sight of three “mermaids”- women with “beautiful hair, shimmering gowns, and total confidence (Love, 2018).” After telling his grandmother that he is also a mermaid, Julián dresses up as one, using her potted ferns and flowers to create a headpiece, her drapes to create a “tail” and even uses her makeup to complete his look. He shows off his new look to his grandmother, who appears to be surprised and leaves. Julian seems unsure about what his grandmother will think and observes himself in the mirror while she is gone. Finally, she returns with a pearl necklace for him, and takes him to a parade with people dressed up in costumes “like him.”

Different from many other traditional children’s books, there are not really any explicit gender norms conveyed in the story. Instead, the text simply tells the story of a boy who wants to be a mermaid, without making assumptions about gender and gender norms. A gender norm establishes certain rules or expected social behaviors, based on gender (Rich, 9/10/19). At this point, it is interesting to consider what exactly gender means.

Gender, according to Emily Kane in The Gender Trap, is socially constructed rather than biologically determined. Gender is constructed through social processes and enforced through social mechanisms. Although there are biological differences between “males” and “females”, it seems as if gender as a binary concept greater serves the purpose of enforcing a social hierarchy rather than explaining biological and reproductive differences (Kane, 13).

In Julián Is a Mermaid, the author implicitly challenges the traditional concept of gender and gender norms because even though Julián is biologically a boy, through his actions in the text, he does not conform to a specific gender. Further, although the mermaids in the story seem to be female, the story never asserts that it is unusual for a boy to want to be a mermaid, or that only girls or women can be mermaids. Instead, since the author associates the mermaids in the story with confidence, it seems as if Julián just wants to emulate the confidence of the women he has encountered on the subway.

Julián Is a Mermaid does a good job of challenging traditional “common sense” ideas of gender stereotypes. Common sense ideas are the ideas about the world that we inherit (Rich, 9/3/2019), and in this case, the text challenges the “common sense idea” that only women can be mermaids. Historically, mermaids have been represented by girls or women, and based on societal norms, it seems like “common sense” that a girl would prefer to dress up as a mermaid, whereas a boy may want to dress up as a more masculine character, say a superhero. In fact, this is an example of reification - where social constructs are assigned to a natural origin (Rich, 9/10/19). However, in this case, a young, curious Julián doesn’t try to fit a particular stereotype. He knows what he likes and seems comfortable with his identity. We are socialized to think in a way that reinforces gender norms, but in recent times, this has been changing, and this book is an example of that change. Socialization refers to the way in which we learn and rationalize ideas about social organizations that we have inherited in the past (Rich, 9/10/19).

In addition, Julián’s grandmother or abuela also challenges “common sense” ideas of gender. Not only does she seem composed and accepting when Julián dresses up as a mermaid, but also, she takes him to a mermaid parade at the end of the story, further encouraging his gender nonconformity. According to Kane’s The Gender Trap, Julián’s abuela seems to be an example of an innovator - she resists gendered structures and seems unconcerned about the judgement of others (Kane, 12). One could argue that as an older woman of color, it is surprising that Julián’s abuela is completely accepting and encouraging of his gender nonconformity; however, her character may serve the objective of further challenging traditional stereotypes.

A show I used to watch as a child that challenged traditional gender norms was Kim Possible. The show challenged gender norms by reversing traditional gender roles of the female and male character. The female lead character, Kim Possible, fights villains and “saves the world” with her quick thinking, strength and agility, and she is supported by her male best friend, Ron, who is more goofy, clumsy and nerdy. At the same time, the show reifies some gender norms in a positive way with Kim’s character, because she still likes shopping, makeup and cheerleading just like a traditional girl. Especially since “action roles” were mainly portrayed by men, especially around 15 years ago when Kim Possible aired, it was inspiring to see a girl character who was physically and mentally strong and at the same time displayed the characteristics of a “typical” girl. This also helped her character seem more relatable to a large audience because it showed girls who liked “girly” things and activities that they could also be powerful, heroic and confident.

Ron’s character also differs from the norm in that he is not traditionally masculine. He is not as physically strong as Kim, and his hobbies, for example, cooking, are different from that of a typical boy. Watching this show as a child, it was interesting and somewhat revolutionary for me to see traditional gender roles so obviously interchanged.

As someone who had seen the reification of gender norms in almost every aspect of my life, including my own family, extended family and school, where the woman’s duties included cooking, cleaning, handling the kids and being more of a supporting figure to a man, and the man’s duties were centered more around working in an office and being the breadwinner, Kim Possible allowed me to see gender norms displayed in a different way. In this case, Kim, the female character emerged as the stronger character, and Ron, the male character played more of a supporting role.