*Usually this page is reserved for topics on Academics, but I'm branching out and adding the topic of parenting into my Survival 101...because let's face it, parenting is often about survival.
I have a confession.
I'm a Twilight Fan.
Now, before you click back over to Facebook to delete me from your friends list, do me a favor and read on before you pass judgement.
When I first read the Twilight series, my loving and faithful husband tried to get through the first book. Tried and failed within a chapter or two. I certainly wasn't surprised. The series was not written with male readers in mind (in the same way that Playboy isn't shot with women in mind). But it seems that Bella Swan was so painful for him to read that he couldn't wrap his head around why I would like the books. Much debating ensued.
Well, I went to see Breaking Dawn a few weeks ago and so the Bella bashing has begun again and I just can't take it anymore. So, here are my reasons for not being a Bella basher.
Bella bashers (like my husband) say - She's a terrible role model for girls!
I say -
1. I agree...but who cares? The last time I checked, Bella Swan was a fictional character. Sure, her story takes place in the "real" world, but she's surrounded by mythological creatures that don't actually exist. I have never met, spoken to, or dated a vampire and therefor Bella's "actions" have no precedent in real life. Furthermore, if my daughter reads the Twilight series when she becomes a teenager and thinks that Bella Swan is who she wants to be, then I have failed as a parent and I should be punished for not teaching my child how to properly cope with being a teenager and all the angst that comes with it.
2. Why does no one freak out about fictional role models for boys? Are there books out there I should be concerned about my son reading? It seems to me that no one worries about the characters that boys are looking up to because they assume boys look up to real men - living real lives, doing real things. Please, oh, please tell me who are girls supposed to look up to? Because it seems that girls just can't win whether they are real or fictitious. Bella Swan is too whiny; Megan Fox is too Sexy; Hillary Clinton isn't sexy enough! If you're a working mom, then you don't care enough about your kids to stay home with them. But if you choose to be a stay-at-home mom, you're not a feminist. You're a bad example because you're playing the submissive role of caregiver. Is there a good female role model out there?
3. Would the books have been as popular if Bella was written better? Honestly, I'm not so sure and lately I've been wondering if the Twilight phenomenon resonates on some biological level. Women have been "damsels in distress" since the dawn of time, back when women needed men to fight off large predators who would otherwise eat them. It's still that way in the animal kingdom.
These days, most women don't have to worry about being eaten by a large animal and therefor have no need of a man with a large club to protect them. Women have won the right to vote; they have left the home and moved into the work place; they've taken political office and are changing the very fabric of the world we live in. But, despite all that, the "damsel in distress" character is still being written in stories, shown in movies, and acted out on stage. We are still having issues defining a woman's role as equal to a man's. Is it engrained in our very nature as humans to subconsciously recognize men as "stronger" creatures? Has culture not yet subdued biology?
Personally, I believe that the underlying theme of the Twilight books is love conquers all and that appeals to me. I love to see love win, whether it's the love between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen or Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet or Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger. I want love to win and I don't mind if my daughter grows up hoping for that as well. That's why I'll never be a Bella basher and I'll always be a Twilight fan.
Feel free to pass judgement.
I'm a Twilight Fan.
Now, before you click back over to Facebook to delete me from your friends list, do me a favor and read on before you pass judgement.
When I first read the Twilight series, my loving and faithful husband tried to get through the first book. Tried and failed within a chapter or two. I certainly wasn't surprised. The series was not written with male readers in mind (in the same way that Playboy isn't shot with women in mind). But it seems that Bella Swan was so painful for him to read that he couldn't wrap his head around why I would like the books. Much debating ensued.
Well, I went to see Breaking Dawn a few weeks ago and so the Bella bashing has begun again and I just can't take it anymore. So, here are my reasons for not being a Bella basher.
Bella bashers (like my husband) say - She's a terrible role model for girls!
I say -
1. I agree...but who cares? The last time I checked, Bella Swan was a fictional character. Sure, her story takes place in the "real" world, but she's surrounded by mythological creatures that don't actually exist. I have never met, spoken to, or dated a vampire and therefor Bella's "actions" have no precedent in real life. Furthermore, if my daughter reads the Twilight series when she becomes a teenager and thinks that Bella Swan is who she wants to be, then I have failed as a parent and I should be punished for not teaching my child how to properly cope with being a teenager and all the angst that comes with it.
2. Why does no one freak out about fictional role models for boys? Are there books out there I should be concerned about my son reading? It seems to me that no one worries about the characters that boys are looking up to because they assume boys look up to real men - living real lives, doing real things. Please, oh, please tell me who are girls supposed to look up to? Because it seems that girls just can't win whether they are real or fictitious. Bella Swan is too whiny; Megan Fox is too Sexy; Hillary Clinton isn't sexy enough! If you're a working mom, then you don't care enough about your kids to stay home with them. But if you choose to be a stay-at-home mom, you're not a feminist. You're a bad example because you're playing the submissive role of caregiver. Is there a good female role model out there?
3. Would the books have been as popular if Bella was written better? Honestly, I'm not so sure and lately I've been wondering if the Twilight phenomenon resonates on some biological level. Women have been "damsels in distress" since the dawn of time, back when women needed men to fight off large predators who would otherwise eat them. It's still that way in the animal kingdom.
These days, most women don't have to worry about being eaten by a large animal and therefor have no need of a man with a large club to protect them. Women have won the right to vote; they have left the home and moved into the work place; they've taken political office and are changing the very fabric of the world we live in. But, despite all that, the "damsel in distress" character is still being written in stories, shown in movies, and acted out on stage. We are still having issues defining a woman's role as equal to a man's. Is it engrained in our very nature as humans to subconsciously recognize men as "stronger" creatures? Has culture not yet subdued biology?
Personally, I believe that the underlying theme of the Twilight books is love conquers all and that appeals to me. I love to see love win, whether it's the love between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen or Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet or Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger. I want love to win and I don't mind if my daughter grows up hoping for that as well. That's why I'll never be a Bella basher and I'll always be a Twilight fan.
Feel free to pass judgement.
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