Victorianism Today:"Peter Pan Syndrome" and Gender roles in the 21st century
I read a great article today on
TheFrisky.com called "Cut Peter Pan Some Slack," about the modern woman bemoaning men's ability to grow up. Writer John Devore asserts that:
"Women are always complaining that the men in their lives suffer from
"Peter Pan Syndrome." It's a standard, catchall criticism that chicks
levy willy-nilly on dudes for any number of relationship misdemeanors
or faux pas."
He goes on to discuss J.M. Barrie's classic novel and play from a
standpoint that suggests women these days have developed the opposite
of "Peter Pan Syndrome," A "Wendy Syndrome." "Wendy Syndrome" occurs
in young women who grow up to early and become sticks in the mud,
forever nagging and prodding their male counterparts to do things like
the dishes and to join them for sophisticated activities that force them out
of their man-child ways.
Of course, I began to think of my own complaining about "Peter Pan Syndrome" and wondered if I was a Wendy. Though I value ambition and and a sense of occasion in a man, I can't say that I've completely left my adventuring days behind me. I myself am not opposed to a night or even a weekend of completely child-like behavior.
This train of thought led me to thinking about how this value system, this psychology came to be relevant in our ever so modern society. Obviously to do with gender relations in the 21st century, I find it particularly curious that we are characterizing our societal roles as men and women with
Victorian literary references.
It's not breaking news that early American culture was heavily influenced by what was going on in Britain. After the puritans and their
bundling bags, The Enlightenment started to loosen things up a bit, until the turn of the century when Queen Victoria and a return to prude ushered in a new century. Particularly marked by sexual oppression and repression the Victorian era was a time when the gender roles we women so vehemently came up against in the 1960's were established. Interesting that we should revert back to such a time in referring to men of the present day, who are in many ways dissimilar to Victorian men.
This is a case where I feel there must be a middle ground. Yes, in some instances, the lost boys we love so well need to grow up and be men, but it is unfair for us to assign a man who is young at heart a title that is associated with such disdain. Though women in the 21st century are ambitious, career-minded, take-charge types who can do it all and don't want to take crap from anyone, that is not to say that we can't take part in the moments of fun offered to us by our masculine friends.
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