This document is an academic paper that analyzes female sexuality and coming of age themes in the films Spirited Away, Pan's Labyrinth, and Coraline. It discusses how these films contain elements that reference classic fairy tales like Alice in Wonderland, including tunnels to other worlds, talking animals, frightening authority figures, and a young girl's journey of discovery. Specifically, it explores how the films depict themes of sexual awakening, relationships with older male figures, forbidden rooms and doorways representing sexuality, the role of "other mothers", and the impact of body image issues on female sexuality.

1. Down the Rabbit Hole, Into the
Fallopian Tree, and Through the
Vaginal Tunnel
FANTASY, FAIRY TALES, AND FEMALE
SEXUALITY IN SPIRITED AWAY, PAN'S
LABYRINTH, AND CORALINE
Christopher J. Olson
DePaul University
Fall 2013

2. Female Sexuality in Fantasy and Fairy Tales
“The fairy tale, as a literary/cultural genre, has
traditionally been associated with women; and
women have, in different times and in distinctly
different ways, impressed upon these tales the
nature of their deepest fantasies.”
Joyce Carol Oates, 1997

3. Similarities to Alice

4. Similarities to Alice

5. Similarities to Alice
 Tunnels
 Fantastic worlds
 Talking animals
 Frightening authority figures
 Series of quests

6. Similarities to Alice

7. Sexual Awakening in Wonderland

8. Older Male Figures

9. Older Male Figures

10. Older Male Figures

11. Older Male Figures

12. Forbidden Rooms, Doorways, and Other Worlds

13. Forbidden Rooms, Doorways, and Other Worlds

14. Forbidden Rooms, Doorways, and Other Worlds

15. Forbidden Rooms, Doorways, and Other Worlds

16. Forbidden Rooms, Doorways, and Other Worlds

17. Forbidden Rooms, Doorways, and Other Worlds

18. Forbidden Rooms, Doorways, and Other Worlds

19. Other Mothers

20. Other Mothers

21. Other Mothers

22. Other Mothers

23. Other Mothers

24. Other Mothers

25. The Flower Blooms

26. The Flower Blooms

27. The Flower Blooms

28. The Impact of Body Image on Female Sexuality
It is estimated that:
 7 million American women have an eating disorder
 One in 200 American women suffers from anorexia
 Two to three in 100 American women suffers from
bulimia
South Carolina Department of Mental Health
(http://www.state.sc.us/dmh/anorexia/statistics.htm):

29. Trapped in the Looking Glass

30. Trapped in the Looking Glass

31. The Specter of Thinness

32. The Specter of Thinness

33. The Specter of Thinness

34. The Specter of Thinness

35. The Specter of Thinness

36. Binging, Purging, and the Power of Food

37. Binging, Purging, and the Power of Food

38. Binging, Purging, and the Power of Food

39. Binging, Purging, and the Power of Food

40. Binging, Purging, and the Power of Food

41. Binging, Purging, and the Power of Food

42. Binging, Purging, and the Power of Food

43. Conclusion

44. Works Cited
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