Sophie Lewis Sophie Lewis is an Anglo-German writer living in Philadelphia and the author of Full Surrogacy Now: Feminism Against Family, as well as Abolish the Family: A Manifesto for Care and Liberation. Sophie’s essays appear in the London Review of Books, The New York Times, Harper’s, and n+1, and her third book, Enemy Feminisms, is forthcoming from Haymarket Books.

Can the Sireniform Speak? | Devolving with The Little Mermaid

Sophie Lewis

In the year that brought us the orca uprising and the disappearance of a submarine carrying tourists to the wreck of the Titanic, Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid starred an African American woman. Not entirely unlike the orcas’ antics, Halle Bailey’s selection was met with boos from conservatives and cheers from liberals. #NotMyMermaid, some tweeted. #YesMyAriel. Depending on which side you were on, the facts that director Rob Marshall’s $250...