May 13, 2024 4:55:29 PM

Peter Pan: Misogyny (Taylor Swift knows about that) [Part 3]

I changed my mind (partially) on Peter Pan after researching for this blog. I came into it hit over the head with racism and misogyny. I had watched the original Disney cartoon, and enjoyed Hook, despite many obvious flaws. It’s all boys. It’s an attitude of boys will be boys. The women are relegated to supporting roles, literally only coming into the text/movie when they are doing for males. There are not one, but two stereotypical girl-jealousy, fighting over boys storylines. Violence and war are glorified. I was going to tear it to pieces in my review.

Peter Pan a commentary on: Misogyny

…Gender stereotypes can limit the freedom of both men and women (6). Mr. Darling and Mrs. Darling are reflective of gender roles they are expected to play, Peter does not cry, and girls are slaves to their feelings for a man, (7).

Pan is a boy. And you know what they all say, boys will be boys (7). He’s a show off, (“Watch this Wendy!”), he’s arrogant, he thinks he’s indestructible. He has his weird bird call he does. He can’t wait 12 more seconds to open a present. He forgets he’s mad at Tink the moment he sees her again (7).

…[Peter] says, “Girls talk too much” (7). He forcibly shushes her, putting his hand over her mouth just before the Skull Rock sequence. Pan has no filter and doesn’t value anyone’s opinion but his own (7).

A rivalry between two women is in the story.

Tink is jealous and is livid when Wendy wants to give Peter a kiss. She also acts on it, pulling Wendy’s hair (7).

Tinker Bell, an antagonist character, is a representation of the femme fatale, accomplishing her hidden purpose by using feminine guiles such as charm and beauty. She is also manipulative and full of negative emotions, which were not seen appropriate in a female in the late Victorian era (10). The jealous Tinker Bell told them a "Wendy-Bird" had started a flight across there and needed to be hunted down. Basically, women are ruled by their emotions and go ga ga over guys.

Hook’s manipulation of Tink sounds so much like arguments used by girlfriends trying to cheer up their friends after a man either cheated on them or dumped them. Hook tells her that Pan took the best years of her life and then cast her aside! How familiar does that sound? He tells her it’s all Wendy’s fault, that if they get rid of Wendy everything will be as it was before. Basically, Wendy is the “other woman” in this situation. And how often does the Other Woman get blamed instead of the man? (7).

Even the mermaids in this film are all swoony over Peter and try to drown Wendy the moment they meet her (7).

…[Wendy’s] jealous side does not flare up until she sees Tiger Lily dancing for Peter. Not to mention their eskimo kiss (7).

She’s so jealous she leaves the party early and that’s when she decides they have to go home (7).

It was the great escape, the prison break

The light of freedom on my face

But you weren't thinking

And I was just drinking

Well he was running after us, I was screaming, 'Go, go, go!'

But with three of us, honey, it's a sideshow

And a circus ain't a love story

And now we're both sorry (we're both sorry)

Once on the island, Wendy recognizes Peter's paternal potential and immediately establishes a familial unit with him. Wendy is made a mother and compelled to care for the Lost Boys. The Lost Boys also view Wendy as a mother-like figure, demanding she tells them stories. Wendy is the embodiment of maternity in Neverland, there to provide stability for “a masculinity in crisis” (201). This crisis is highlighted in the male characters’ inability “to form mature relationships with females,” which she recognizes as stemming from the boy being separated too soon from his mother (8). Indeed, the moment the Lost Boys realize Wendy has come to be their mother, she becomes their most valuable possession, which, in fact, contradicts the Victorian male tendency to push away the desire for his mother (8).

Men with Peter Pan Syndrome do not trust themselves, so it is difficult for them to develop trust in a relationship. They see their female partners as the critical and overly emotional mother figure that their parents’ marital environment taught them as children (4).

What I came away with regarding masculinity and sexuality, the story was ahead of its time. The author wrote a refutation of gendered norms, and a love letter to mothers. Read on in the series to see why his intentions do actually shine through the text once it is put in context of the times.