Why we love/hate Twilight

Blame this on lockdown making me revert to my thirteen-year-old self alright?

I originally wrote this before Midnight Sun came out, right in the middle of the Twilight Renaissance, when there were a lot of discussions online on how well/badly the books and plotlines aged.

Seeing fans having healthy discussions about their favourite books most problematic aspects, made me compare my original feelings and current thoughts on this series as well and after realizing how much I kept thinking about it, I decided to write them down, so Twihard or hater, there will be something for you here. How you enjoy it!

1.The Writing Sucks

Then: I was 13. I could care less about what people on the internet though about the first romance I ever read. There was kissing, I was riveted!

Now: Yeah, the writing is not great but no one went into it expecting a Nobel laureate.

There are worse stories being written all the time without this kind of hate. When I see Twilight being berated by its fandom rather than its flaws, I know the problem isn't really the story, but how much people love to ridicule anything teen girls enjoy

2. Bella was a permanent damsel in distress

Then: Stephenie Meyer has maintained that Bella is not treated as fragile because she is a woman but because she is human. She even wrote "Life and Death", to disprove those arguments.

Now: The author does have a point: humans are physically inferior to vampires. But what about the women in the Cullen family or even the rest of the vampiresses?

In theory, most of the women in this universe are as supernaturally strong and capable of violence as the men but in practice, only women that have behaviours or personalities that are not supposed to be attractive or are downright villains get to use their physical strength at will. Still, never in a way that makes them physically more powerful than their male partners.

3. Edward is abusive

Then: He's just protective...

Now: Considering how far feminism has come since Twilight was published, yes he does come across that way. What used to be gentlemanly once upon a time can be sexist in another and Edward's behaviour and personality are a direct result of his upbringing and his circumstances:

1 - Stephenie's vampires are "frozen". Their ideas and personalities mostly remain as they were on their last moment as humans except for their more animalistic urges that are augmented. One of the main imperatives in their existence is to protect their mate above all.

2 - Edward was raised Catholic in the 1900s and he is honest about still being the man he was then. He sees failing to protect Bella as an attempt to his worthiness to be with her and his masculinity by extent.

3 - Edward has spent the last hundred years being able to read everyone's thoughts. He never has to guess or be insecure about anything or anyone until he meets Bella, who seems to be permanently in danger, so he overcompensates, which again, he admits to.

4 - The moment Bella is changed and becomes stronger than him, he feels nothing but pride and happiness. When she hides information from him in order to protect him he thinks it perfectly acceptable. When she becomes not only his equal but more powerful than him, he stops being as overbearing.

The problem for me isn't that he behaves in such an overprotective manner, but that he truly believes that he is doing the right thing and refuses to listen to Bella's arguments or seeing things from her eyes. He is never sorry for doing something, only for being found out. For a character that is able to read everyone's thoughts, he is extraordinarily self-involved.

4. Plotless Romance

Then: What's the problem with reading a story about two people falling in love?

Now: Most of the problems people have with this series stem from the fact that the author put effort into creating a pretty believable world with *amazing* secondary characters but then spent most of her time describing Edward's eyes instead of exploring her character's motivations and personalities.

But my original point remains: what is the problem with romances? They are not less believable than superhero or action movies but we never hear those fans get ridiculed...why is that, I wonder...

5. The Movies Suck

Then & Now: Oh, we're judging books by their adaptations now? Quick, let's tell Cassandra Clare and Rick Riordan!

6. Sexism

Then: "Twilight" was the first book I ever read that was both written by a woman and told through the eyes of a female character. The first. One. That alone shattered plenty of glace ceilings.

Now: Having a female main character is no guarantee of good representation and the author's internalized misogyny truly shows with the way the author treats her other female characters, principally those that do not walk the narrow path she considers, acceptable femininity (Leah, Jessica, Rosalie,...).

To go back to my second point, the world itself is not sexist, but the way the author forces her male and female characters to behave and react differently in the same situation is.

7. Bella is a harmful example/ has no personality

Then: "Twilight" and "Eclipse" had their moments but "New Moon" is definitely the dark hole of female empowerment in the series so let's focus on that one.

Let's be clear: it's not sexist to write a female character being heartbroken after a relationship ends, it's not sexist to feel your feelings or being depressed. But it is problematic and frankly lazy to write it in such an unrealistic way where the only reason Bella wants to live is to be able to see some halfhearted never properly explained vision of Edward telling her she can't do something.

Now: Bella is canonly a survivor of parental negligence.

Bella was raised by a woman that despite loving her, was not the best mother. Bella didn't have hobbies, she had responsibilities. Charlie was the first parent she ever had and every time he took care of her, she is always surprised and then emotional. Even the few friends her age that she does have are people that like her were forced to be responsible for more than themselves.

It's not surprising that she bonds with the Cullens, the first people in her life she has loved without having had to take care of and is obsessed with dating Edward which is the only period in her life in which she gets to care only about what she wants.

Bella is responsible, has good grades that she actively has to study for, she likes classics, she listens to different music genres, has an awful fashion sense, she is not perfect but she does have a personality.

8. Racism

Then: Meyer didn't outright say all her characters were white, but most certainly are. The big exception is the Quileute Tribe, which if you live outside the USA, might have been the first time you were introduced to a Native American character.

Now: The books are extremely racist and that is most clear in the way the Quileute Tribe was treated (a real tribe that had their culture and traditions not only ripped off but misrepresented in mainstream media).

Stephenie Meyer earned millions out of books depicting a culture that was not hers as poor, anger prone, and coming from dysfunctional families which are all prejudices thousands of people have had to deal with for centuries. Not only that, the author actively fought against having any POC actors cast in the movies.

The few characters that are canonically POC also have to deal with more veiled racism such as being described as "wild" or "savage" while canon racists are considered heroes. Let me say it loudly for the people in the back:

JASPER WHITLOCK IS a highly decorated Confederate Soldier and that is not only glanced over but the villain of his story is a Mexican woman. Discuss.

9. The religious factor

Then & Now: There are two main criticisms when it comes to Stephenie Meyer's religious beliefs impacting her stories:

1 - Bella and Edward not having sex before their wedding is unbelievable.

If there was one theme that both Bella and Edward both discussed at length in all four Twilight novels was their sexuality: Bella asks Edward about sex the first night they spend together.

The problem most people (men) seem to have is not that they don't have sex but that Edward is the one being actively pursued by his girlfriend instead of the opposite. Consent is not only for women. To argue that a man saying no to sex is unrealistic is incredibly sexist and to disregard a Catholic character for their beliefs is prejudiced.

Furthermore, Bella's stance on sex is one of the most feminist moments in the entire series: Bella loves Edward and she takes any opportunity to show him that, both with words and acts, taking into consideration his own boundaries.

2 - Renesmee is nothing more than pro-life messaging.

Bella was characterized as extremely mature and a caretaker for the entirety of the four books so wanting to keep the baby, one she felt was a miracle when she had a great support network and no economical difficulties were not unbelievable for me.

The problem I had, was that characters that are supposed to love her, are perfectly comfortable strapping her down and ripping the baby out of her. Suddenly all the moral fortitude they had shown for three books, is erased in a few lines.

Here is why I disagree with the above criticism: the characters that most want to preserve Bella's life by terminating the pregnancy are Edward and Carlisle: the most religious characters in the family.

Renesmee is not pro-life messaging, she is a plug for Jacob and Bella's romance, and the fact that she exists only as Jacob's predestinated mate, that IS problematic (racist, depending on whom you ask) but please, don't make me go there, this article is long enough.

10. LGBTQ who?

Then: Ahahahaha

Is that a sandwich?

Now: Funnily enough the growing demographic in Twihards are LGBTQ folk that started rewriting the books in their own image seeing as, despite some of the characters being from times and places where there were several genders and different ways of seeing sexuality, there are no mentions of it.

So go ahead, fanfic writers. Do your best.

11. Meyer just keeps rewriting the same story

Then: If you don't like it, there are more books you can pick up... no one has a gun to your head. A lot more books...like millions more.

You are just jealous your favourite authors don't keep releasing new material.

Now: I respect S. Meyer a thousand times more than authors that keep relaunching their books with new covers and release ten editions of the same book each one with a special coloured illustration or an extra chapter and force you to buy several editions of the same damn story. Out of kindness alone, I won't name names but you know who they are!

At least when Stephenie Meyer comes out with something new, it's an actual 500 pages book. You might not like it, but it is new.

I have been waiting for "The Host" sequel for years now though so...

Conclusion:

Liking something doesn't mean you have to defend its wrongdoings. I'm a huge Twihard but I also know that the only way Meyer writes something worthwhile is by accident.

Still, it has been ten years since the last Twilight book. Maybe she has learned something and will make amends for her mistakes in this new instalment. (Spoiler: She learned nothing. I finished Midnight Sun so creeped out...)

Do you agree with any of my points? Let me know in the comments :)