So, there's been a lot of hating on Twilight, and I'll admit it's an easy bandwagon to jump on - drives real slow and circles back a couple times just to see if you're ready to get on it yet.
And I'm not.
Now just bear with me a little before you go fitting me for a straight-jacket and crying "Internalized misogynistic tendencies!" I will be the first to admit I think Lestat could kick Edwards broody butt.
That said, there have been some particularly brutal and -- dare I say, unbalanced -- reviews of Breaking Dawn out there. And I feel I need to throw my two cents in. Let's start with this - I'm not talking about the movie (I haven't seen it yet), but I am going to complain about the movie reviews. Don't blame Hollywood for the content, because as far as I can tell, the larger critique is actually about the content of the book itself. So let me take a few minutes to stick up for Stephanie Meyer.
1. Stop hating Twilight because pre-teen girls everywhere love it. It's almost as popular to hate Twilight as it is to love it, and I don't think we should dismiss anything just because pre-teen females love it. Let's face it, folks - they are a very large, lavishly enthusiastic and relentlessly devoted fanbase and market. Fickle as the teenager may be, we are largely a society of fair-weather fans liking whatever's trendiest at the moment -- or disliking it out of some college-born need to be "indie" and above it all. Not me. I won't like things just because others do, but I also won't hate them for the same reason. I DO WHAT I WANT! (ahem, sorry, that was my pre-adolescent-screw-you-if-you-don't-like-it self. I'll try to hush her up, but it won't be easy.)
2. If you're going to diss the book for not giving good messages to young girls, what kind of message does making fun of their taste send? That their likes, tastes and opinions are irrelevant and silly? That the instant they like something, no one else should have respect for it? Shame on you! They know what they like -- and they like it a lot. And good for them.
3.It's not like I don't have issues with Bella's character. She's occasionally insipid, largely unremarkable and somewhat Mary-Sue-esque in that every guy who glimpses her wants her, and she's got extra-special talent, etc, And of course - she's bookish! All paranormal romance female protagonists are bookish, I keep hearing from people pointing at the author all "Aha! Found you out! She's based on you!!"
Put that finger away. Of course, of course, OF COURSE a bookish female character is somewhat based on a bookish female author. When we write, we pour ourselves into every word. And often that kind of writing is what really shines. So yeah - a bit of ourselves ends up in every character. And I'll skip the writerly "we" and own up to it myself. There is a lot of ME in my book. So there!
But let's take this a step further. Who is the target audience for a YA paranormal romance novel? A tough tomboy with bad grammar and a love of soccer? Our a bookish adolescent female? Don't throw soccer balls at me, I realize you can be tomboy without bad grammar, I realize you can play soccer and love to read - that's my point. Inside every avid female reader is a "bookish girl", and we want our readers to identify with the protagonist. Also, inside every avid female reader of paranormal novels, is a bright imagination daring to believe in adventure and the impossible. That she could be extraordinary and extraordinary people will love her. While a large population of readers may need to be saved from nefarious situations of varieties I shudder to think about, a lot of us wished to be saved from cynical, mundane reality we are forced to live in. And that's what essentially happens in a paranormal novel.
4. All that said, let's consider what people have a problem with in the movie concerning Bella. She prances around in lingerie begging Edward to sleep with her, while he laughs off her pathetic seduction attempts. How humiliating. Ouch. But, Edward doesn't want to have sex with her over a sincere desire to protect her and to not hurt her himself. If you could potentially kill your mate by accident, would you not be cautious? If Bella were your daughter, would you not praise her husband for considering her welfare before his own physical needs?
A lot of people have claimed this whole scenario is WRONG in the name of feminism. I respectfully disagree. I think its perfectly fine for a young, virginal woman to be the sexual aggressor in a relationship. I think Edward's insistence that they be married first shows a man respecting the decision to wait for marriage. I find it a very interesting role reversal for genders and am constantly amazed at how people perceive it as chauvinistic and demeaning to Bella.
But let's trade places shall we? E. wants to wait for marriage to have sex, even though she's a vampire. Having fallen in love with the brutally handsome B., she is constantly tempted to have sex with B, and B, is very sexually aggressive. Even though they are in a committed relationship, B doesn't want to marry E because he doesn't believe in marriage. His parents got divorced and he doesn't want his freedom curtailed by that. Finally, he is beaten down and tricked into marriage with the leverage of losing E if he doesn't submit to the marital ties. E has sex with B, and it's a bad, frightening experience. Too bad. B wants more and will use any kind of manipulation he can find to force E to have sex again. Poor E!
Except, here all we did was change their genders. Now the tale reeks of misogyny and chauvinism and a lot of other dirty -isms that are UNTHINKABLE!! Just saying.
5. Next claim: Bella doesn't care enough for her own life, She's willing to sacrifice herself for other people all the time and won't even listen to the other people who are making a lot of common sense and telling her what to do with her life!
A - she tends to sacrifice herself for her family. Charlie, her husband (or future husband), -in laws, her extended family (Jacob, wolves, etc.) -- all family, not to mention the life of her child. And how often is sacrifice called for on the part of a protagonist -- putting aside their own wants and desires for the welfare of others. If it were a male character, we'd call him Batman and think about how noble it is. But a WOMAN CAN'T DO THAT!
Oh contraire, mes amis! How many of you women out there have made significant sacrifices for families? How many of you have mothers who gave up dreams and freedom and god knows what else for her family? Because I know quite a few.
B - Are we really going to be upset at Bella for not listening to common sense when it comes to saving the life of her child. Really? In the name of feminism, you're going to object to her maternal instincts overriding every other damn thing anybody has to say about her kid dying? Come on. I'm not going to get into it about abortion, what I'm talking about is the primal urge to save the life of your off-spring.
People of the internet, let me tell you something. My mom would die for me. I know it. Deep in the marrow of my bones, in every corner of my DNA, in every hair follicle, I know that if the choice were her or me she would choose me every time, and screw what anybody - ANYBODY - else has to say on the matter. Screw the amount of pain she'd endure in the process. There is something essentially, strong and beautiful and respectable about that. And if you don't think so, you can kiss my @$$.
Also, how can you criticize her for refusing to obey anyone else's wishes, including the people she loves most - the people she's been willing to sacrifice herself for, her beloved Edward -- to do what she thinks is right? Even if you don't agree with her choice, I think that smacks of strength in her character. So you can't call her weak and wishy-washy and then say she should give in, hipocrite-a-potamuses!
A couple final words before this blog post gets any longer. (Which is why I'm trying to stick to Breaking Dawn - don't get me started on the rest of the books). Breaking Dawn is too brutal and gruesome for you? Then fork over your tickets for Hunger Games. Parents can't sacrifice themselves for their children? Turn in your Harry Potter gear!
And one last thing, if you're worried about what messages we send young women, maybe you should take another look at The Little Mermaid and it's Disney-i-fication, which completely robs the story of its moral. Ariel falls in love with a guy she's never even talked to, then gives up everything to be with him. She gives up her home, family and status, PHYSICALLY ALTERS her body and then gives up her voice, just for good measure. For a guy who's going to run off with the first pretty singer he comes across and never even notice poor Ariel. In the original, Ariel dies when she can't kill the Prince and becomes sea foam for the rest of the eternity, a karmic comeuppance for not respecting who you are and where you came from. But in the Disney version, she weds the prince and it's all happy ever after.
Just goes to show you. Throw in some singing, dancing animated animals and it's all okay. Maybe the wolves should dance and sing in Part 2 to mollify the naysayers.
