I never thought about the sexually appealing aspect, but I guess if you're a "leg man," merged leg is the way to go. ;-)

I guess I don't like it because it looks fake to my eye. Like those old movies where you can see the "mermaid" is just an actress wearing a latex tail prosthetic. I don't see mermaids as being evolved, more like magically created. Like griffins or dragons.

deleeuw, that's a lovely image. You don't see many redheaded mermaids. :-)