To get what she wants (travel, experience of another culture),
Ariel must trade in her voice
But, without my voice how can I-

You have your looks!
Your pretty face!
Because a princess from the most powerful, if not only, kingdom under the sea,
Has nothing to communicate with
Beyond BODY LANGUAGE

For as we all know, and has been well documented,
Disney exists to reinforce the patriarchy
And the notion that girls/women are there to be looked at
Not heard
And certainly not to use their skills to expand their horizons
Or fulfill their deepest wishes

Ariel is educated
She is an explorer and hungry for knowledge
I’m ready to know what the people know
She can grasp metaphorical concepts beyond her own experience
What’s a fire, and why does it, what’s the word?
BURN?!
She has a shining shimmering treasure trove,
A complete collection of human paraphernalia
Organized by type

But beyond things, Ariel wants more
Our mermaid heroine has feminist notions of a utopian place/time  
Where educated women have freedom
To do as they please, speak out, and move freely
Betcha on land, they understand
Bet they don’t reprimand their daughters!
Bright young women, always swimmin’
Ready to stand
Clearly these notions don’t come from Daddy
Who would rather Ariel find a nice merman
Settle down
And make merbabies 

Ariel signs the scroll in developed cursive handwriting
Suggesting an education beyond kindergarten level
Unlike her father Triton, who only engages with other species through domination,
(His page is a seahorse, his music director is a crab)
Or banishment,
(Ursula. Can’t have educated powerful women floating around the kingdom. Might give young girls ideas.),
Ariel can relate with other species without power struggle.
Her best friend is a fish
Her teacher is a seagull.

We know Ariel has overcome her childhood conditioning of
Other = evil
And if we go beyond the miracle of cross-species communication
(In the magical world of Disney merpeople can communicate with all forms of aquatic life, and with humans;
Everybody conveniently speaks English)

Why does Ariel not use her many other skills, beyond her body, to communicate?
In all her collection of bottles and human knick knacks
Does she not possess a message in a bottle?
Why doesn’t she write in the sand?
Use seashells to spell out a message?
Use her ability to talk to animals to ask the fireflies to spell it out?
Hi Eric! Remember me? I rescued you!
I’m totes in love with you!
Wanna hang out? 

Beyond the recent reduction of genuine kick-ass feminist role models
To big-eyes, sparkly dresses, and insane privilege
Give me characters who use their wit
And education
To go out into the world
And use their voice
In whatever way they can
To progress and flourish
And inspire those around them to do the same

Now that is something worth singing about. 

The end.

Growing up in Australia
Sport was ubiquitous 
Sport on television, in the news, in the papers, school sport, weekend sport 
Women's teams weren't prominent
Or even there at all
Men in sport was just 
Sport 

But we had plenty of prominent women
Athletes like Cathy Freeman
Johanna Griggs
Liz Ellis
Louise Sauvage
Nova Peris
Susie Maroney
Susie O’Neal
Zali Steggall
Were in the public eye
As positive role models of their sport
And nation

The Sydney 2000 Olympics torch relay
Blazed into the stadium and
Celebrated a century of women’s participation in the Olympics
Dawn Fraser, Susie Maroney, Betty Cuthbert, Raelene Boyle, Shirley Strickland and
Cathy Freeman
Between them, the winners of 15 gold medals,
Household names admired and loved.
To have women literally carrying the torch
As the pinnacle of the relay
Said to sixteen year old me
Women in sport are important
Women in sport matter

But I have come to realise
That while I would like this to be true
At the present moment in time
Women in sport, for the most part,
Are second class citizens 
Still viewed as inferior
Not worth funding, promotion, or care

It wasn’t until 2012
That every participating country
Had at least one female athlete present
At the Olympic Games
That was last year. Not last century.
And even then,
The Australian women’s basketball team,
Winners of three silver medals over three Olympic Games,
Flew Economy Class to London
While their male counterparts,
Winners of zero medals over three Olympic Games,
Flew Business.
They weren't alone. The same treatment was accorded to the 
Japanese women's soccer team. 
Women around the world still require permission to participate 
As athletes 
The Super Bowl, World Cup, Grand Prix, Tour de France
All bar women from participating in the main sporting event
As competitors

Today, in the 21st century
Women’s sports are rarely written about
And when they are
The players are referred to as
"The Girls"
The coverage shows women uncovered 
Because “sporty women”
Can still be “sexy women”
Look at your television
Look at your newspaper
How many women’s sports teams
Are represented?
The statistics are abysmal

ESPN has launched a dedicated women's channel 
And held a summit 
A UK group have launched a new magazine
The UN wrote a report 
Grassroots movements are popping up all over the place
Despite fierce resistance 
The fact that we need to “raise the profile” of women in sport
In 2013
Underlines the problem 

I would love to see a day
When dedicated women's channels
And magazines
Are no longer required
When "sport" is not synonymous with “male” and
Instead means people, of any gender
Being active and competitive
At all levels
From backyard games to professional televised world events

Women and girls play sport
Let’s celebrate their success
In equal measure to the way we celebrate the men's
Let women participate at the top level
In any sport of their choosing 
And as participants or spectators 
Let us rejoice in the human ability
To move and play and compete
Across the world

The end.