The gay community may have experienced discrimination, but it is – sadly, and yet truly – among the most discriminatory. This is most apparent in our lookism, stressed by our over-emphasis on youth. And yeah… for gays, aging over 30 means you are basically already dead.
This links us to Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie’s character; the boy who refused to grow up.
Similar to so many gay men, Peter’s not growing up symbolized many things… from avoidance of the burdens of adulthood, escaping the ordinariness of adult life, to embracing everything attached with youth like freedom, adventure, and innocence.
@outragemag Find #PeterPan not in #Neverland but in #KensingtonGardens ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine
In Kensington Gardens, I checked Peter’s statue, the 1912 bronze sculpture made by Sir George Frampton. This is located to the west of The Long Water, close to J.M. Barrie’s former home on Bayswater Road.
Standing about 14 feet high, the statue is topped by Peter standing on what may be a tree stump that is decorated with figures of fairies and animals.
This statue’s history is full of adult-created conflicts. For instance, J.M. Barrie and Frampton didn’t agree on the model to use. Also, J.M. Barrie had the original bronze erected in Kensington Gardens in 1912 without permission.
There are actually six other casts of this statue in other places, including in Egmont Park in Belgium, in Queens Gardens in Perth in Western Australia, and in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Peter’s appeal continues to this day, considering we know adulting is a painful process. Alas… for gay men, sana lang we celebrate youth for the wonder of being young, and not see it as the only form of existence. We’d be better off sana as a community that fights all forms of discrimination, including those coming from among us. Because growing older need not be harder than it is, if we can support – instead of attack – each other…
The Shrine of Youth: The Peter Pan Statue is at Kensington Gardens in London, UK.
