*nods* If I recall there are a few traditional stories where the genders are reversed, but the choice isn't a common one by any means.

And it's creepy, isn't it? I think it's the more chilling because her self-interest is so much more fiercely present than in a lot of the tales I've read. It's a self-interest and selfishness that makes up part of the core of the tale as a whole, but it's usually more hidden. For me, part of the power of this poem is in how clearly it illustrates the self-interest of both the selkie in wanting zir skin back and the human for stealing it away in the first place.