My dear, sweet child, that's what I do. It's what I live for.

July 11, 2020 10:10 AM

Julie Murphy on how the Little Mermaid’s Ursula is her ‘Revenge Body’ icon. "The revenge-body trope asserts that for a fat woman to avenge herself and to prove to her bullies once and for all that they were wrong about her, she must lose weight. Only then will her vengeance be fully realized. Essentially, the fat woman must become something she is not in order to prove that she was worthy all along. With her tentacles, back rolls, and red lips, Ursula isn’t waiting for a revenge body. She already has one."

Encountered via The Other F Word, edited by Angie Manfredi. Julie Murphy is the author of Dumplin' and the brand-new YA novel Faith Taking Flight.

posted by spamandkimchi (13 comments total)

That was a great read; thanks for posting! I especially loved this bit:

As I said, there’s so much more nuance to consider, but the point is: OF COURSE URSULA WAS INSPIRED BY A DRAG QUEEN. Of course she challenged me and made me uncomfortable. That’s what she was designed to do.

And since I have nothing to offer in the department of insightful commentary, I will simply give you this amazing demo recording of songwriter Howard Ashman killing it on “Poor Unfortunate Souls.”
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:24 AM on July 11, 2020 [11 favorites]

There are a lot of fat tropes we see over and over again, and one that Ursula so artfully subverts is the "revenge body."

Except she doesn't. She has to change her appearance to become conventionally Disney princess hot to pursue her goals. As a fat kid, I definitely noticed that. The Little Mermaid was less awful about fat people than most children's media at the time, but that doesn't make it particularly empowering for a child.
posted by betweenthebars at 10:55 AM on July 11, 2020 [18 favorites]

Ursula's back rolls always made me awestruck because I loved them. Now I have them too and any time I am getting down on my body, I turn around in the mirror until my rolls appear and start singing Poor Unfortunate Souls until I feel better. 🐙
posted by Kitchen Witch at 1:02 PM on July 11, 2020 [20 favorites]

Maybe it’s because I was a little older when the movie came out and I had a different perspective, but I always had the idea that Ursula-in-the-skinny-body was in on the joke, and bringing the audience along with her. Kind of like, “Look at this chump! Just show him a couple of shapely gams and he makes a complete idiot out of himself!” But, it’s also been a while since I saw the movie, so I could be way off base.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:09 PM on July 11, 2020 [13 favorites]

I was a younger teen when the movie came out, and I just couldn't hang with the idea that Eric mistook human!Ursula for his girl. I accepted it, of course, because I knew it was a fairy tale, and I had long ago realized that people in fairy tales are always getting taken by the dumbest tricks. Maybe it was because their mothers didn't tell them fairy tales, on account of them living in fairy tale times just then. Even so -- black hair? It would have been more subtle to use different-colored eyes. But then I guess Disney did not make its money on "subtle."

Of course I loved Ursula as herself and I loved her song. Another thing I had learned very early is that the villain is the best part of the story, even if it is the scariest.
posted by Countess Elena at 1:59 PM on July 11, 2020 [4 favorites]

Eric was magicked, I think. I reasonably assume Ursula did a little something-something to that voice in the shell.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:17 PM on July 11, 2020 [2 favorites]

So a question:

Sea Witch, I get that. In the market for mermaid souls, that too I understand.

But what's with turning them into sea worms? Is it just Ursula's long-plotted revenge on the fat-shaming merbros, or is there another motive/benefit for Ursual transforming the mer-people into sea worms?
posted by LeRoienJaune at 8:39 PM on July 11, 2020 [1 favorite]

I always got something out of how her deals all involve a lack of self-confidence.
“This one longing to be thinner
That one wants to get the girl”
She gives physical transformations to people who think “if only I was different, things would change”, and proves that their body wasn’t the thing holding them back.
posted by domo at 9:20 PM on July 11, 2020 [28 favorites]

is there another motive/benefit for Ursual transforming the mer-people into sea worms?

It might not be to your or my personal taste but you gotta admit lining your hallways with the souls of the damned is one hell of a decor style.
posted by phunniemee at 5:22 AM on July 12, 2020 [13 favorites]

She gives physical transformations to people who think “if only I was different, things would change”, and proves that their body wasn’t the thing holding them back.

I am a shark, but so incomplete,
I don't need clothes, just give me some feeeeeeet....
So I can walk - no make that run -
And eat everything...
posted by kaibutsu at 10:11 AM on July 12, 2020 [2 favorites]

honestly there is really something incredibly compelling about a Disney movie where the villain's entire deal is effectively "fuck the haters"
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:12 PM on July 12, 2020 [6 favorites]

Loved this article - thanks for posting it!
posted by insectosaurus at 7:29 AM on July 13, 2020

I haven't read the book, but the movie version of "Dumplin'" is on Netflix, and I found it a really enjoyable couple of hours of contemporary melodrama, all set to the music of Dolly Parton. Recommend.
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 9:29 AM on July 13, 2020 [1 favorite]