Twilight and Postfeminism
“[T]he battle for gender equality has been won;
feminism is thus unnecessary, superfluous,
and/or a total buzz kill.”
(Petersen, 343)
“Postfeminist rhetoric and
texts commodify the language
and attributes of feminism, coopting catchphrases like ‘Girl
power!’ as advertising slogans
as they frame the ‘freedom to
choose’ as the freedom to
choose one’s lipgloss color.”
(Petersen, 343)
Is Twilight a postfeminist text?
Response to hookup culture?
The Pleasures of Girl Reading
Here, the pleasures of Twilight are
strongly linked with the pleasures
inherent to teenage girldom, including
reading, first love, and the obsession and
absorption accompanying both
practices. Ultimately, these pleasures
have less to do with the specifics of
Twilight than with feelings of
envelopment, dedication, and intense
emotion that many women associated
Image: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/12-signs-youwere-obsessed-with-twilight
with their pre-adult lives. (349)
Ambivalence
"Even the most timorous teenage girl couldn't
conceive of Bella as intimidating; it's hard to
imagine a person more insecure, or a situation
better set up to magnify her insecurities. Bella's
vampire and werewolf friends are all fantastically
strong and fierce as well as nearly indestructible,
and she spends the better part of every novel
alternately cowering in their protective arms or
groveling before their magnificence. 'How well I
knew that I wasn't good enough for him' is a
typical musing on her part. Despite Edward's
many protestations and demonstrations of his
utter devotion, she persists in believing that he
doesn't mean it, and will soon tire of her. In a way,
the two are ideally suited to each other: Her
insipidity is the counterpart to his flawlessness.
Neither of them has much personality to speak
of." —Salon
Bella’s agency
“Our relationship couldn’t continue to balance, as it did, on the point of a knife. We would fall off one
edge or the other, depending entirely upon HIS decision, or HIS instincts. My decision was made, made
before I’d ever consciously chosen, and I was committed to seeing it through. Because there was
nothing more terrifying to me, more excruciating, than the thought of turning away from him. It was
an impossibility.” (Twilight, 248)
“There was no way around it; I couldn’t resist him in anything.” (Twilight, 284)
“His eyes were melting all my fury. It was impossible to fight with him when he cheated like that.”
(Twilight, 485)
“His mouth was on mine then, and I couldn’t fight him. Not because he was so many thousand times
stronger than me, but because my will crumbled into dust the second our lips met.” (New Moon, 512)
About three things I was
absolutely certain.
First, Edwart was most
likely my soul mate,
maybe.
Second, there was a
vampire part of him-which I assumed was
wildly out of his control-that wanted me dead.
And third, I
unconditionally,
irrevocably,
impenetrably,
heterogeneously,
gynecologically, and
disreputably wished he
had kissed me.
Petersen’s conclusion:
Ultimately, feminists, whether at home in academia, mainstream media, or the
domestic sphere, disparage and lampoon the pleasures of Twilight, or any other
fantasy, at our peril. Because feminists, including this one, do love Twilight. And while
I am not a likely candidate to “turn to the right,” I do know many other women who,
already wary of the label of feminist, are only further alienated through an attack on
the cultural texts, artifacts, and practices, whether marriage, motherhood, or Twilight
fandom, which grant them satisfaction. This is not to say that we should simply adopt
the definition of feminism proffered by Meyer and other postfeminist texts. Instead,
we might use texts such as Twilight to create dialogue with women drawn to such a
definition, working to fortify, rather than fracture, feminism’s overarching projects.
(352)
Collins and Carmody, “Deadly Love”
“Dating violence is
strongly associated with
dominant forms of
masculinity and
femininity” (355).
http://feministsonar.com/2012/09/why-teens-shouldnt-readtwilight/
Given the widespread popularity of the series and the fact that the target audience is predominantly
teenage girls (Young, 2009), it is of particular concern that the dominant romantic relationship is
presented with behaviors that are characteristic of relationship violence. The presentation of these
behaviors in popular fiction clearly does not cause dating violence. However, it is troubling when one of
the most popular book series in recent history repeatedly normalizes, minimizes, and romanticizes
these behaviors. It reinforces cultural norms that condone men’s use of force to obtain a variety of
goals. (363)