So Lana Fox is an erotic author and sexuality activist who runs a course on erotic self-love entitled “The Mermaid Voyage: A Two-Week Journey of Erotic Self-Discovery.” Admit you want to take that immediately. She’s also written an erotic novel called Confessions of a Kinky Divorcee and is working on a non-fiction self-help book that is in part themed around—what else?—mermaids. Everyone knows that those half-fish half-humans are sexy, but I obviously had to ask Lana about how mermaids can help you and me perform some erotic self-discovery. You’re welcome.
So what is “The Mermaid Voyage: A Two-Week Journey of Erotic Self-Discovery”?
Thanks for asking, Carolyn! “The Mermaid Voyage” is a two-week spa for your sexual self and it is themed around mermaids. I designed the course because we are so often shamed, as women, for feeling sexual or making love to ourselves, yet I think solo lovemaking and romance are two of the most breathtaking ways of connecting with and caring for our deeper selves. The course will include daily audio visualizations, erotic meditations, and inspirations for connecting with your inner mermaid. It will also include a gift box with aromatherapy products, a sex toy, and enticing little sea-themed luxuries.
How does the image of the mermaid figure into what you’re doing?
Great question! I’m so inspired by the grace of mermaids. They are often portrayed as being absolutely comfortable in their bodies, and for me, mermaids’ movements are so sensual, expressive, and self-accepting. Yet we women who walk the earth too often receive the message that our bodies—particularly when we are feeling or being erotic—are ripe for criticism, shame and cruel objectification. We’re taught that our bodies should be about other people, when actually, other people should be inspired by our bodies, and honored by them, just as they are. I believe we learn this, in part, by truly knowing and celebrating the depths of our erotic selves.
How do you incorporate mermaids into your course?
Mermaids are part of the audio visualizations that are central to the course. I also encourage those who sign up for the Voyage to think of themselves as mermaids as a way to open the channels of erotic self-love and freedom…in fact, this is why the gift-pack is also mermaid-themed (natural shells and all!).
People ask me all the time about why mermaids are so sexy when they don’t, in fact, have genitals. What do you think?
It’s so interesting that people ask you about this, Carolyn. Yes, I can see why. I think we have been shamed into believing that our genitals are somehow “dirty.” Society would too often have us believe that sex is about our genitals—not our minds, hearts and souls. Yet mermaids embody the very opposite! I love seeing how sensual and erotic they can be simply by being at one with themselves. And, in my imagination, I like to think that when mermaids sing they can climax from the sheer joy of it. Sex can involve genitals, but it isn’t about genitals. It’s about enjoying our very selves.
Do you identify as a mermaid at all?
I do! I have a lovely “Oracle of the Mermaids” deck by Lucy Cavendish and and Selina Fenech, and I use it on a daily basis to really connect with myself. When I see the beautiful mermaids on the cards and read their messages, I feel that I am very much tapping my own inner depths, my own inner mermaid. I also love the sea—really love it!—and I like to dream that, in a past life, I came from the ocean.
Why do you think people (especially women) like them so much?
I think that women who identify as really feminine can feel very freed up by mermaids. Mermaids are often seen as strong and independent, but they aren’t afraid to be pretty and femme—in fact, they celebrate it!
Do you have any advice for aspiring mermaids?
For me, identifying as a mermaid is about learning to be ourselves and to shed any shaming that we have experienced. So I love to sing in the shower, to dance when I’m alone (as well as with others!), and to enjoy my body erotically, my rhythms, my self. In other words, my advice would be to find ways of expressing yourself with your voice, emotions, and body, in purely inspiring ways. That’s how I really feel my own self as a mermaid—so that would be my suggestion.
I am a mermaid 
So well articulated…especially the glorious eroticism (w/o genitals) represented by mermaids.