Twilight: A Tale of Female Stereotypes and Anti-Heroines

Stephenie Meyer has hit the jackpot with her best-selling book series, Twilight. The saga is idolized to no end by the target demographic, young female teenagers aged 12-17, but why? In her blog article, “‘Twilight’ Sucks… And Not in a Good Way,” Kellen Rice went into detail about the female stereotypes perpetuated by the Twilight series. While quite blatantly alluding to abuse, sexism, and inequality, the saga has received no major complaints thus far (Keller par. 11). Meyer’s writing is “insulting on every level—as a woman, as a teenager, as a literature student, and as a graduate of the Harry Potter craze” Keller writes. With examples of female stereotyping from each of the four books in the saga, Keller questions the devotion to the series and the lack of concern for the caveman-universe that the characters are apparently living in. It is quite possible that this series has “set gender equality back two hundred years in the minds of millions” (Keller par. 16).

While the male characters are partly to blame for their treatment of the central female character, it is Bella Swan who brings this damsel-in-distress stigma upon herself. She sacrifices her dreams of going to college in order to be with Edward twenty-four-seven, an unnecessary sacrifice no less. Bella is additionally given the role of “a modern Eve, begging the noble, moral gentleman for sex while he desires to preserve their virtue” (Keller par. 6). In fact, it is only Edward who worries that Bella will go to Hell for sleeping with a vampire; Bella appears to be okay with succumbing to eternal damnation, as long as she gets her husband. At one point in the series, when Edward leaves her—for her own good, mind you—Bella transitions into a “zombie” state, both physically and emotionally. She is in so much pain at the loss of Edward, in fact, that she turns to pulling dangerous stunts—like motorcycling and cliff diving—simply to hear his (imagined) voice in her head begging her to stop (Keller par. 7). What message does this send to the readers? That they should “fall apart at the seams for months if their boyfriend leaves them? That reckless self-endangerment is okay, so long as it’s to be close to your lover?” (Keller par. 8). Somehow, that does not seem correct. In the third installment, Eclipse, Edward is back but jealous of Bella’s friendship with another guy, Jacob Black. He becomes a tad fixated on this green-eyed emotion, taking the engine out of her car and getting his sister, Alice, to “kidnap” her so that she cannot escape the house to see her male friend. Scarier than Edward’s actions is Bella’s rationalization of them. She basically brushes it off as him being a little overprotective (more like possessive) and doing it because he loves her (and is obsessed with her). Sounds like a healthy relationship, right? As if that were not enough, Meyer “romanticizes and idealizes it” in the case of both of Bella’s relationships (Keller par. 10). In Jacob’s case, he forcibly kisses her twice, using the threat of suicide as leverage to get her to go along with the idea. “Not once,” however, “does the thought of abuse, sexism, or inequality even occur to her main character!” (Keller par. 11). In fact, she has an epiphany: she is in love with him. But don’t judge her too hard. I’m sure we all had a moment of realization after our best friend forced him/herself on us. It’s never happened, you say? Apparently, it’s nothing out of the ordinary in Meyer’s world.

Bella Swan is by far “one of the most awful excuses for a female literary hero that I’ve ever seen” (Keller par. 15). Despite this, she is put on a pedestal by thousands of girls, as is her vampire lover whose good looks and charming personality fail to make up for his treatment of the female lead. Maybe parents should take a break from the Harry Potter book-burning and turn their sights in the direction of Twilight. Surely, the negative message is more relatable to today’s world and the impressionable young ladies who inhabit it.

Works Cited:

Rice, Kellen. "Twilight Sucks... And Not in a Good Way." Weblog post. 

     Politics. Sports. Anything. 16 Aug. 2008. Blast Magazine. 1 Mar. 2009. 

     [<]http://psa.blastmagazine.com/2008/16/twilight-sucks-and-not-in-a-

     good-way/[>].

How to be Hispanic (From the Perspective of a Stereotypical Hater)

So the other day, I read the poem Girl, by Jamaica Kincaid. It's basically a "how to" poem that says how to be the "perfect" girl. It inspired me to write my own poem (that, and the fact that it is a required assignment for my high school English class), modeled after Kincaid's style, except I decided to give the poem my own personal twist: how to be Hispanic. My parents were born in Argentina and I grew up with the Hispanic language and culture, so this piece focuses on the stereotypes that people have in this country regarding the Hispanic/Latino population.

Here is an excerpt from the ending of the poem so that you can get the general gist of her style:

"...this is how to bully a man; this is how a man bullies you; this is how to love a man; and if this doesn't work there are other ways, and if they don't work don't feel too bad about giving up; this is how to spit up in the air if you feel like it, and this is how to move quick so that it doesn't fall on you; this is how to make ends meet; always squeeze bread to make sure it's fresh; but what if the baker won't let me feel the bread?; you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won't let near the bread?"

There are some pretty harsh stereotypes included here. Just know that I do NOT agree with most of them, since that would be like insulting myself. I sincerely hope that nobody takes offense to anything I have written, as this was not my intention, and if you do - well, that's life. Get over it.

Some feedback would be great! =)

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Speak English with an accent; this is how you say “Es no my yob;” this is how you say “My ney María Carmela Jimenez;” this is how you say “my especial son;” this is how to drop out of high school, so that you can work at McDonald’s for the rest of your life; this is how to work at Burger King serving Whoppers with cheese, hold the onions; this is how to work at Wendy’s making crispy chicken sandwiches; this is how to be promiscuous like the prostitute you are so bent on becoming; say “yes” when someone asks you if you are “Spanish;” but I’m not from Spain, and I don’t call an American “English” if he was not born in London; answer the right questions wrong on the Spanish test so that you don’t mess up the curve for the students who are wishing your untimely death before test day; never mind the fact that you’ve never heard of half of the tenses and verb conjugations being taught; to avoid the evil eye, Americanize your Spanish accent when you speak Spanish in class; pronounce your Spanish rr’s like an old station wagon failing to start; pronounce your Spanish o’s like a Southerner singing the E-I-E-I-Oooo part of "Old McDonald;" this is how to hop the border and steal our country’s jobs; but I’m not from Mexico; this is how to hop the border and steal our country’s money to take back to your poverty-ridden country since you are clearly from Mexico; this is how to listen to Reggaeton; make sure the radio you stole is tuned into “La Kalle” 105.9 FM; this is how to dance salsa; this is how to dance merengue; this is how to dance tango; this is how to treat your husband after a long day at the construction site; this is how to treat your husband after a long day mowing lawns; this is how to treat your husband after a long day of mopping floors; this is how to treat your husband’s affair partner; this is how to be an illegal alien; but I was born here and there’s an American flag at my front doorstep; this is how to play fútbol with your brothers who take off their shirts and shout Gooooooooool!!! when their team scores against Brazil; this is how to live in a cramped apartment with Mamá, Papá, Tío, Tía, Abuelo, Abuela, y los hermanos y primos; this is how to use drugs; this is how to deal drugs; this is how to steal money and valuables to pay for those drugs; this is how to call your best male friend Ese or Jefe; be an affirmative action charity case in universities and at the workplace, so that you don’t turn into the fast food place employee you are so bent on becoming; you are too lazy and dumb to become educated or employed at a successful location without meeting a quota; besides, these institutions like to present the illusion of equality; but I put a significant amount of effort into my education; this is how to make up less than 1% of American news stories while representing 13% of the population; watch your news on Telemundo and Univisión; watch Spanish novelas and act flabbergasted when Estefanía’s husband Pablo whom she cheated on with Lucas is in actuality her long lost twin brother; this is how to obey your machista husband; but what if I disagree with something he says?; you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of Hispanic woman who has her own mind?