Exploring Gender, Sexuality and Identity Formation in Works about Peter Pan

Abstract

[Abstract]This study focuses on works that revolve around Peter Pan, which include: James Barrie’s novel Peter and Wendy (1904), Walt Disney’s Peter Pan (1953) and Return to Neverland (2002), and Damion Dietz’s Neverland (2003).The central aim is to analyze these works both individually and comparatively to show how complex the development of gender roles, sexuality and identity is during adolescence. Moreover, I will examine the consequences that a poor nurturing environment and an inadequate growth of such aspects could have for a series of characters, who may even be led to what seems a fatal loss of identity. The theoretical framework adopted goes from Freud and Piaget’s psychological research on children, to Wasko’s sociological analysis of Walt Disney and other critics in the fields of LGBT and Queer Studies (e.g. Butler). The conclusions I have reached provide an interpretation the general public may not be familiar with, which include: reflections on Peter Pan’s demonic nature, Neverland’s horrors, the complexity of children’s literature and how the media manipulates our perception of female characters.