“girls girls girls” — Merida, 2022 ⚢

Self-certified Meridaologist since 2018. || Nonbinary. || Unapolegetically lesbian. || I am a firm believer of gatekeeping Merida from anything heterosexual or m/f; she's a canon lesbian, Harold. Meridach is MY canon nblw rep and Merida x Mulan are MY fanon soulmates. || I mainly post about my personal love and affection for Merida's character and about her being a canon lesbian and how happy it makes me (check pinned), I also post about her canon nonbinary lover, Feradach, and wlw ships involving Merida and other Disney princesses, mainly Mulan x Merida. I also post about other Disney princesses as well. Occasional discourse, but only in defense of Merida, lesbian issues, trans rights, and lesbianism. || M/f Merida shippers and M//rricup shippers DNI, this is NOT a safe space for you; you WILL get your feelings hurt. She canonically loves girls and enbys only, idk what else to tell you other than to stop being lesbophobic by shipping her with men. || Terfs, transmeds, radfems, transphobes, transmisogynists, enbyphobes, racists, and proshippers DNI OR YOU WILL GET BLOCKED ON SIGHT. ||

[meridaism]

Merida Is A Canon Lesbian

I know I sound like a broken record, but I don’t really care:

Merida is a canon lesbian, whether Disney and Pixar intended it or not.

The playlist Disney made explicitly for Merida’s internal character contains multiple love songs exclusively towards women and female-aligned people, and those are the only love songs on her entire playlist, the ones that refer exclusively to women and female-aligned people. This quite literally makes her a canon lesbian, as it is canon material made by Disney regarding her and her character.

If it weren’t for Disney Records making that playlist that contained those songs for her, it wouldn’t even be important. However, this is the company that owns her that made this playlist for her. They read those lyrics from multiple songs about expressing romantic love and attraction towards women and female-aligned people and they agreed that those lyrics accurately portrayed Merida and her character overall. As a lesbian whom has loved and cherished Merida for over 2 years straight, I have a right to be this happy and ecstatic about it.

With the addition of the May 2022 Disney and Pixar-approved sequel to Brave in the form of a YA novel written by Maggie Stiefvater titled “Bravely” showcasing Merida’s explicit non-attraction to men throughout the entirety of the book, implying Merida’s physical attraction to her best friend named Leezie, Merida finding comfort amongst the company of women, and finally confirming Merida as canonically nblw by giving her a nonbinary shapeshifting love interest and having her state that she does not care for his male appearance and that all she really cares about is whom he is outside of his physical forms: an entity barely made of air, no body, no mouth, no eyes, and no gender.

All of this, by definition, makes Merida a canon lesbian. She is canonically nblw with absolutely no attraction towards men whatsoever whilst pertaining romantic and physical attraction towards women.

Granted, this doesn’t excuse Disney’s history and continuation of blatant homophobia nor their general disregard for their lgbtq+ fanbase and lgbtq+ children who desperately need representation and validation, but it does give lesbian and ace lesbian children, teens, young adults, and adults still coming to terms with their acespec, lesbian sexuality and identities representation and someone to see themselves in. 

I just wish I had Merida whilst I was growing up, but either way she’s here with me now and I’m forever grateful that I am represented by Merida’s existence. Not saying she’s the only ace lesbian rep I have, but she’s the most personal for me. I love her with all my heart, and I am beyond proud and so happy she got the respect she deserves in Bravely, which came out this year and is a very good read. Her sexuality wasn’t erased by the author, and if anything it was all the more solidified by adding a nonbinary love interest to Merida’s already canon lesbianism. I’m proud to say the lesbian community has their princess, that Merida is a character for us.

I know about 90% of the content on my blog is really shouting it to the mountains, but I don’t care. I’m elated! I love Merida so much. Ever since I resonated with and connected with her on screen I had the headcanon of her being a lesbian, but now that I know it’s real and solidified, this is the most freeing feeling in the world!

[meridaism]

It makes me laugh when ppl say “show us in canon when princess merida was a lesbian” um how about u show me in canon when she was interested in a male 🤨

and NO i don't mean a scrapped alternative scenario where she actually picks a suitor from her movie (which would in turn defeat the whole purpose of her character). NO i don't mean her being aesthetically attracted to the body and build of a young boy her age and then realizing she didn't like him whatsoever shortly after (and ever since then NEVER entertaining the idea of “finding the right man” for herself because she knew they'd all bore her, anger her, and fail to give her what she wanted and needed) in Bravely. NO i don't mean Feradach from Bravely because Feradach is a genderless entity only inhabiting the bodies of multiple genders, including hermaphroditic forms, aka he's a nonbinary shapeshifter. NO i don't mean that literal millisecond of Merida smiling at Macintosh in Once Upon A Time, when with context she was thankful he finally stopped treating her with gross misogyny for once.

I mean an ACTUAL, GENUINE MOMENT WHERE SHE SHOWED ATTRACTION TOWARDS A MALE. That's right, you can't. Because she's never had one and she was created for that specific reason: to NOT have her identity nor her sexuality centered around men nor romance in relation to men. Yet she's canonically nblw with absolutely no attraction towards men sexually nor romantically whilst pertaining romantic and physical attraction towards women, which is the literal definition of a lesbian. 🤨🤨

Leave lesbians alone and leave lesbian characters alone, jfc. 💀

[skygenders]

how deep does an echo chamber need to be to think bi lesbian is a sexuality that isn’t rooted in lesbophobia/biphobia.

[skygenders]

Lesbians aren’t attracted to men, Bi women with gender preferences are still bisexual. How often does this need to be said

[skygenders]

im literally a nonbinary lesbian 😭. so yeah duh

[femmefurina-deactivated20240814]

[theprideful-deactivated20251201]

“lesbian” has always included nonbinary people

[meridaism]

I don't know why the cishets are so convinced Meridach is proof of Merida not being an aroace lesbian anymore. Or, in their words, “Merida is no longer a queer icon.” 1. aromantics and asexuals can still very much experience romantic or sexual attraction because both labels are indeed spectrums. Merida, seeing as how she didn't fall in love with Feradach right away but instead needed time to develop a genuine emotional relationship/attraction towards him, is still on the aroace spectrum, specifically she is demiromantic and demisexual. 2. Bestie you're straight AND cis, you don't have the right to dictate whether or not a character is for/represents identities and sexualities of the lgbtq+ community or not???

THIS. Like, as an aroace lesbian I fail to see how aros, aces, or lesbians have “lost” Merida whatsoever when it comes to Meridach. Who cares about what Disney interprets as str8?? Who cares about what the cishet readers interpret as str8?? That literally does not matter here based on the literal fact that:

1. Feradach is a genderless entity made of just barely air only inhabiting human bodies, and this is stated throughout the book.

2. Merida tells him point blank that yeah he looks like a man but she doesn't care what appearance he takes because she doesn't see Feradach as a man or as any specific gender. She sees him for his kindness and that is still him no matter what physical form he takes. She doesn't love him for his appearance, she loves him for who he is internally: the odd entity made of barely air who is free and loving, with no face, no body, no eyes, no mouth, and no gender, just an entity who loves the world, humanity, and her. That is who she loves. This is literally in the book?? She's canonically nblw, what else do they want??

Those cishets swear up and down that Merida is now “str8” but show me where she expressed any attraction towards men throughout the entirety of the book. I'll wait. You can't count that miniscule paragraph of Merida being aesthetically attracted to this young boy when she was a young girl because she quickly grew out of that AND it then followed that up by saying she never entertained the idea of being with a man nor “finding the right one” someday because she knew they'd all bore her, anger her, and fail to give her what she needed eventually. You can't use Feradach because he is literally not a cisgender male just because he's borrowing the body of a man for a short period of time and uses he/him pronouns??

Using a lesbian’s explanation of literally growing out of her comphet as a means to try to prove she's somehow str8 vs. being transphobic and enbyphobic towards her nonbinary love interest as a means to try to prove she's str8,, my brother in christ the cishets have indeed lost it.

Anyways, Feradach is canonically nonbinary and Merida is canonically an aroace nblw whilst harbouring no romantic nor sexual attraction towards men and simultaneously harbours romantic and physical attraction towards women (i.e. Merida’s internal character playlist showcasing love songs towards women and female-aligned people and Merida’s physical attraction towards Leezie [literally describing her as “pretty” from Merida’s perspective at least over 20 times] in “Bravely.”) By literal definition alone, MERIDA IS A LESBIAN.

[meridaism]

Merida is a canon aroace lesbian, and I’m so tired of people acting like she can only be strictly aroace or a lesbian. Neither her aroasexuality nor her lesbianism are headcanons. It is literally canon that she is a lesbian on the aroace spectrum. If I see one more person going “I like the headcanon of Merida being a lesbian but she’s actually aroace” I’m going to commit violence. As an aroace lesbian, stop doing this when we point out canon lesbian characters and stop acting as if said lesbian characters cannot also be aroace. We’ve been having this problem whenever it comes to Merida for years now; please stop dismissing her lesbianism and chalking it off as a “headcanon” just because you don’t believe aroace lesbians exist because WE DO and Merida is a prime example of that. Stop taking away our representation. Please and thank you.

[meridaism]

This is how I feel every time I see M/rr/I/cup shippers on my dashboard, or really anyone who ships Merida with literally any man.

[meridaism]

People hate lesbian headcanons so much that once a character is confirmed to be a lesbian or is heavily lesbian-coded, the first thing people will ask for is proof. Like it's an accusation or something. God forbid said lesbian character has smiled at exactly ONE man for like a millisecond, then all of a sudden it's “UMM ACTUALLY THEY R CANONICALLY ATTRACTED TO MEN SO….”

You have no idea how many “has Disney said anything about this?” and “If Disney hasn't outright said anything then I can't take this as the truth” responses I've gotten towards my posts (especially my pinned) when there's so much canon proof of Merida being a lesbian in all of the properties and pieces of media that Disney themselves owns that they don't have to say anything.

Not to mention y'all use her comphet as a means to say she's straight in Bravely when her love interest is literally canonically non-binary???

Us: Merida is a canon lesbian

Them: “But you failed to consider where there is a brief mentioning of Merida’s childhood in Bravely where she was attracted to a BOY. 🤓”

Meanwhile, what Merida actually said and meant: “For a short period of time during my childhood I was attracted to the body and build of a boy but the more he spoke the more I realized I wasn't really attracted to HIM at all. Ever since then, I haven't gone out of my way to find the right man for myself someday because I knew they'd all anger me, bore me, and fail to give me what I really want. It is for this exact reason why I do not care for Feradach’s male appearances whatsoever, and I really only care for who he is internally: a genderless, bodiless being made of air whom is kind, curious, and loving. That is who I love, no matter what physical form he takes. I love Feradach internally, not externally. His physical forms don't matter to me, only his truest and happiest form made of air because that is his true self. Which is exactly why I am aiming to free him from his curse of having to wear the human faces and bodies of those he unwillingly brings ruin to. I am aiming to restore him back to his original, happiest form: a feeling, an internal bliss made of air, the one I love.”

Brave has always been about internal vs external change, and Bravely is the perfect sequel to that. Don't dismiss the message of Merida’s story and her growth as a person just because you want to have a nonexistent gotcha moment out of a pathetic desperation to erase her canon lesbianism and take a beloved character away from the lesbian community and erase the representation she gives us.

[meridaism]

“princess merida is a canon lesbian,” i say into the mic. the crowd full of cishets boos, and there at the forefront stands merricup shippers. “you’re wrong,” they say. i start to walk out in shame, but just then, princess merida herself stands up in the midst of the swarm, like a lone flame in a pool of darkness. “they’re right,” she says. “i am a lesbian.”

[meridaism]

"people are allowed to dislike things." CORRECT everyone is allowed to dislike people who ship Princess Merida with men

[chateauofmymind]

lesbianism is literally so important to me it’s not just a sexuality it’s a gender it’s a worldview it’s a state of mind + a state of being

[jes12321]

If you support LGBTQ+, you must support:

Queer POC

People who change their labels

People who don’t use labels

Aspec people

Neurodivergent queer people

Disabled queer people

Queer women

Bisexuals and Pansexuals

Polyamorous relationships

Trans, enby, and gender fluid people

People in straight-passing relationships

Any and all people who identify as part of the queer community

[meridaism]

I think a lot of people don’t realize that there’s a difference between lesbian-coding and a character that’s just a lesbian. Lesbian coding is when a character is sub-textually written as a lesbian but it’s not explicitly stated. Merida is explicitly written as a lesbian; Brenda Chapman stated that she created Merida in order to break that mold of the stereotypical princess whom always needed a prince or romance [in relation to men] as a means to be complete and whole. She was literally created with the intent to seperate men from her identity and her sexuality altogether.

Her creator left the implications of love for Merida in the future ambiguous, explicitly never specifying the male gender when talking about how she wanted Merida to find love of her own choosing and to not be forced into something she didn't want to do; Merida explicitly didn't specify the male gender either when she said “My mother believes that we should be free to write our own stories, follow our hearts, and find love in our own time” in Brave.

With the addition of Merida having a canon nonbinary love interest in her canon sequel to Brave, Bravely, confirming her to be nblw, and with the addition of her homoromantic and homoerotic undertones throughout the book towards her best friend Leezie and her playlist created by Disney containing songs where she sings from her heart including love songs exclusively towards women and female-aligned people, it's really hard to believe that Merida is a “subtextual” lesbian.

Is Merida explicitly saying outright that she's a lesbian? No, but she's explicitly opposing and defying heterosexuality and heterosexual practices such as marriage in her universe, explicitly disinterested in romantic and/or physical attraction towards men altogether. She explicitly showcases heavy sapphic undertones towards her gal pal Leezie. She explicitly expresses her love for her nonbinary lover, explicitly disregarding the male human body in which he is inhabiting altogether, stating that she doesn't care about what physical form he takes because she cares for who he is internally: the genderless, air-like being merely inhabiting human bodies. She is showing her lesbianism, not telling it.

Merida isn't lesbian-coded, she's just a closeted lesbian character (+ this isn't meant to hate on anyone calling her lesbian-coded, because yes Disney has never outright stated her sexuality [because they're raging homophobes] BUT they still very much own every piece of media that has all of the canon confirmation of her being a lesbian so it is still canon regardless of whether or not they state anything.)

A lesbian character shouldn't have to jump up, wave up and down at the viewers and yell “I'M A LESBIAN!!” for you to respect them and the lesbian community in which said character represents.

[kteacupss-deactivated20150804]

As said, heres part 1 of my Merida and Aurora pictures! If you go under my first few photos posted here you’ll see the editing is very different.. but i believe its gotten better :-)

[meridaism]

“Merida would be a femcel”

“Merida is such a pick-me girl”

“Merida would be a radfem”

Merida is literally a canon lesbian whom is intimidated by men, prefers the company of women as opposed to being around men, and has a canon nonbinary lover. Don't project your weird misogynistic and transphobic bullshit onto her, we already have to deal with the cishets still forcing heteronormativity onto her to this day in the form of m*rricup or gross m/f crossover ships and them trying to debunk her canon lesbianism in Bravely, the canon sequel to Brave mind you, by being enbyphobic and transphobic towards her canon nonbinary love interest. Merida canonically loves women, and this includes trans women. Merida is canonically nblw. She would never tear down another woman for the approval of men, she is literally discomforted by them, intimidated by them, and explicitly lacks attraction towards men altogether. Merida is not an “I'm not like other girls” archetype and she never has been, y'all are just misogynists projecting your misogyny onto her. Merida, being canonically nblw, would never exclude nonbinaries nor trans women from her lesbianism because she's not a transphobic freak like those of you that are claiming she can't be a lesbian because of Feradach’s existence as her love interest.

[meridaism]

How much do you wanna bet Disney would try to issue some bs response like “Oh, THIS female character? The one who is canonically disinterested in men in both her movie and sequel to her movie, has a playlist dedicated to her internal character, that we made, containing songs that she sings from her heart including love songs exclusively towards women and female-aligned people, has a canon nonbinary love interest in the sequel to her movie where she tells him she doesn't care about his physical appearance but rather his internal genderless air-like form, has excessive homoromantic & homoerotic subtext between herself and her female bestie in the sequel to her movie, and seeks comfort amongst the company of women as opposed to men, whom intimidate her, in the sequel to her movie?? Well, we didn't INTEND to write her as a lesbian, but you can INTERPRET her as a lesbian if you'd like! REPRESENTATION MATTERS AND WE LOVE GAY PEOPLE!!” if they were to ever find out they accidently made Merida a canon lesbian and furthermore that we all know about it?

Literally all of my life savings they'd try to pull the whole “oh we didn't intend to write her that way but feel free to interpret her as anything you'd like!” card if they were to ever find out they accidently made Merida a canon lesbian and felt as if they had to address it. The day content creators and writers and authors realize that not stating that a character is explicitly lgbtq+ and instead “leaving it up to interpretation” does more harm to lgbtq+ rep than good will be the day I know peace. Now I'm hoping Disney stays silent about this, like don't piss me off, there's plenty of canon proof already without a word from them directly.

[letsboldlygomotherfuckers]

omg I love what you’ve done with your gender

[meridaism]

The Dunbroch’s greeting Feradach whenever he comes over in a fix-it au where he's a part of the Dunbroch clan.

[meridaism]

Merida calls Leezie “pretty” from her pov over 20 times, gets so distraught and upset about Leezie getting married that she blocked out the fact that a literal god of death and destruction declared ruin unto her and her entire family literal hours earlier, took the time to stop and SMELL Leezie as the two of them were hiding away from the Dasátach and then followed that up with an afterthought of “I'm so glad she's not getting married and I'm so glad we're here together, pressed up against one another, together,” then afterwards she stood and held Leezie by her waist firmly and, in front of a bunch of men, said “My heart near to broke when I found out she was getting married, that's how close we are.” Then later on, asked her why she'd want to get married, to which Leezie replied with how she'd want her husband to refer to her as “Ms. Leezie” whenever she woke up and vice versa, then Merida calls her “Ms. Leezie” when telling her goodnight and vice versa routinely for whenever they go to sleep. Then the morning after that, she is intimidated by the men and asks where the women are as opposed to being around men. Then, when visiting an island predominantly inhabited by independent, self-made and self-taught women, Merida literally short circuits at how many women there are. All of this in the CANON SEQUEL TO BRAVE AND TO MERIDA’S STORY, AND she has a CANON NONBINARY LOVE INTEREST whom she says “You look like someone girls would fancy. But, that's just the body, isn't it? The face you're wearing. That kindness is you, though, whether you're in that body or out of it. That's Feradach.” to. And you people expect me to believe she's straight or at all interested in MEN???

All of this plus the playlist Disney themselves made for Merida’s internal character which have songs in which Merida sings from her heart including love songs exclusively towards women and female-aligned people. And her already being completely disinterested in men canonically throughout the entirety of Brave.

All of this being literal canon confirmation of Merida being a lesbian and these people still really wanna go “Well I mean Disney didn't confirm anything, so 😒” ???

Disney owns Brave, Bravely, and the Walt Disney Records Spotify account where there's so much book canon, movie canon, and Walt Disney Records Spotify “Be Brave” playlist canon material altogether of Merida being a confirmed lesbian, so it wouldn't even matter what Disney said at this point. Merida is a lesbian and there's nothing anybody can do to change that.

[justaphobethings]

Bi ppl: *exist*

My ace ass: 

[ibuprfn]

Ace ppl: *exist*

My bi ass:

[catnipkittie5-deactivated202101]

bi and ace people: *exist*

my pan ass:

[my-life-is-sometimes-interesting]

Bi, ace, and pan people: *exist*

My lesbian ass:

[gendertranny-starscream]

Bi, ace, pan, and lesbian people: Exist

My gay ass:

[that-sweet-sweet-validation-blog]

Bi, ace, pan, lesbian, and gay people: Exist

My trans ass:

[arsonistblue]

Trans, ace, pan, lesbian, and gay people: Exist

My bi enby ass:

[theprideful-deactivated20251201]

this is what pride month is all about