Twitards Unite

A couple of years ago I got into a LiveJournal argument with a fellow poster’s friend (arguing online is the BEST) about whether or not Bella was just another sullen teenager and Edward was an abusive boyfriend.  She claimed Stephenie Meyer’s writing was bad for teenage girls because it is sexist, that Bella and Edward were terrible role models, and that it would encourage boys and girls to emulate them.

Her first mistake: assuming that boys care about Twilight.  Very few of them do and the ones who are into it won’t be beating up their girlfriends if you get my drift.

Her second mistake: assuming that all teenagers aren’t sullen.  Uhmmm…all of the ones I’ve known are, at least part of the time.  It’s a genetic right of passage.  Besides, the girl has been uprooted, has to make all new friends and lives in a town that’s gloomy and overcast all of the time.  Put yourself in her shoes bitch.

Her third mistake: she hadn’t bothered to read the final book and had no plan to do so.  So, without getting the full story she formulated a concrete opinion about it and decided she wasn’t going to be convinced otherwise.

Brilliant.

Stupid people exhaust me.

I’m not saying that she’s not entitled to her own opinion, I’m just saying that she should get the whole story before she formulates said opinion and then starts fighting with people she doesn’t know about it.

Or am I just talking crazy?

Here’s why I think she is wrong…

Edward and Bella, with their “no sex before marriage” policy, sure are bad role models for teenagers, aren’t they?  Of course Bella kinda wants to do it, she has raging teenage hormones and her boyfriend is mega hot (in an ice cold kinda way).  If and when I ever have a teenage daughter *shudder* I hope that her boyfriend has the same respect for her that Edward has for Bella.  Not that I want potential future daughter to get married right out of high school or anything but it would be nice if she waited until then to start doing the deed.

Regarding the whole Edward the Abuser bullshit argument.  I take real issue with this.  Bella may be whiny but she certainly stands up for herself.  Edward never once attacks her physically or verbally.  Pushing her away from a charging Jasper is not abuse.  It’s panic.  Keeping her from a friend he feels is dangerous is not abuse.  It’s concern.  I love Jacob to death but she does tend to get injured when she’s in La Push.  My boyfriend’s would have been concerned as well and not wanted me to hang out with him.  Nevermind the fact that he IS a relatively volatile young werewolf who has had trouble controlling himself around her.  I will admit that the whole breaking her heart thing in New Moon really sucked for her but everyone has gotten dumped at one time or another and it’s just one of those shitty parts of life.

The sexism.  Yeesh.  Where do I begin with this one??  It’s not like she keeps her trap shut.  She definitely speaks her mind whether she’s confident about what she’s saying or not.  LJ Girl’s biggest argument was that Bella is always the victim and Edward always has to save her.  First of all, how is that different from most of the stories out there?  Guys are constantly saving the damsel in distress.  Second, if she had bothered to read the last book she would have known that the tables turn and Bella ends up being all bad ass and saving EVERYONE.  Yep, that’s super sexist all right, having the chick be the one who saves the day.

Twilight is like Harry Potter in that it has gotten kids to read books.  You know, those things made of paper with words in them that seem to elude Generation Me.  Anything that can do that is great and wonderful with me.  I personally love the books and will totally cop to being a Twitard.  They aren’t as juicy as the Sookie books or as well-written as HP but Stephenie Meyer has a way of drawing you in and not letting you go.  Hemingway she is not but there is something magnetic about her stories and her characters that keep me coming back for more.  She’s also sold more than 100 million books worldwide in 37 languages and was the biggest selling writer of 2008 AND 2009.

So suck on that LJ Girl.