Stereotypes? Sexism? Really?

Posted by Meesh in Mouthing Off with Meesh | 5 comments

So here’s a new one. The Twilight Saga is full of stereotypes and sexism. Yeah, I guess it’s not really new, is it? Ever since I read the series in 2008, I’ve been reading discussions, debates, even arguments that the series perpetuates stereotypes – like a female doing all the cooking – and it is sexist. I kind of giggled at the time. It’s a teenage vampire love story, for gods’ sake. What are people who truly understand stereotyping and sexism doing reading a teenage vampire love story? Uh, wait a minute. I guess that included me.

Let’s look at some of the things that people claim are stereotypical and sexist, starting with Bella doing all the cooking for her dad. Is that sexist, that Bella enjoyed cooking and was good at it? I don’t really think so, because she wanted to do it. She took pride in it. Now, had she walked into the house and Charlie handed her a frying pan and said “Cook, woman!”, that might have been a sexist situation, but there is nothing sexist about a woman doing what she likes to do, not even if that is cooking.

I would turn this around and ask if middle aged men shouldn’t be a little miffed that Charlie was portrayed in such a stereotypical manner. Bachelor divorcee, beer drinking, fishing, can’t cook or take care of himself, aren’t these insulting to men? Charlie had his head so far up his ass most of the time that if I fell into that description, I wouldn’t be pleased to see the stereotype of the bumbling father being perpetuated. I mean, Edward spent every night in his daughter’s room, and Charlie was completely clueless.

How about Bella’s view of Edward as the perfect male specimen with no flaws? Or her feelings of inadequacy and lack of worth when it comes to Edward’s love and attention? Isn’t that a common stereotype of adolescent girls? Um, hello? Have you ever been an adolescent girl? I have. Granted, it was a long time ago, but I can pretty much assure anyone that this kind of behavior isn’t a stereotype but is rather the truth about the way teenage girls in love behave. If you don’t believe me (which means you probably were never an adolescent girl), listen to the radio. Hell, just buy any Taylor Swift album. Tear Drops on My Guitar, Love Story, Our Song, You Belong with Me. Her career thus far has been built on this teen angst stuff that Stephenie Meyer wrote so realistically that it has made many women well past these years feel like they were back in high school. I love Taylor Swift, by the way, no disrespect to her subject matter intended at all. Bella read classic romance novels like they were her sustenance. She didn’t see any of Edward’s flaws, like the fact that he was one of the most insecure, self loathing vampires to ever grace the pages of a book, and was convinced that nothing she could give him would be enough to level the playing field. That is the definition of a teenage girl’s first love, as much as I remember of it.

Again, let’s turn this around. How do you think Edward felt, being viewed as perfection, having to live up to that illusion? He loved Bella as much as she loved him. She was the air he breathed (metaphorically speaking) and yet he knew that she had these delusions of him. He had to have been half crazed at the thought of any move he made shattering her fantasy of him, because it was truly a fantasy. He wasn’t perfect. He was uptight, overbearing, overprotective, way too traditional for the times. He thought things through to the point of obsession. And he really didn’t think he was anything special – and that self-effacing nonsense is such a turn off for grown women, isn’t it? I’m sure he was walking on eggshells all the time, worrying about not being as good as she thought he was.

Then there’s the “Me Tarzan, you Jane” aspect of their relationship (wow, I just totally dated myself there, didn’t I?). Edward was strong and capable. He was the protector. Bella was average, clumsy and insecure. She was physically inept, her build slight. Nothing about her appearance screamed that she was able to take care of herself. She did dumb things, put herself in harm’s way often, and Edward came to her rescue over and over. But was that really how it was? Bella was strong willed and had a mind of her own. We have no idea how she would have fared against the four drunks in Port Angeles, but she was ready for a fight. She remembered self defense moves. Does that not suggest she learned those moves? If she was really weak and helpless, I think she would have caved when those guys surrounded her, but instead she kept her wits and had every intention of fighting back. It might not have saved her, but I give her props for her reaction. No tears, no screaming in fear. The rapist fed on women’s fear, and no matter what, she wasn’t giving him what he wanted. That is the opposite of helpless and weak. And did you ever notice that Bella never backed down from the conflict, even though there was not a single instance of what one would refer to as a fair fight in the whole series?

Was there sexism intended? I can’t tell. A lot has been made about SM’s religion and how it played into her writing (well, duh!), but I don’t see anything I’d regard as blatantly sexist. The females weren’t in stereotypical roles. In fact, Alice and Rosalie were kind of the opposite of traditional females. Throughout the entire series, Bella struggled to contribute in ways she felt were meaningful, and except for the fact that she was behaving in very teenage-like ways, I don’t see the sexism or stereotypes shining through.

How about you? What do you think? Visit us at the lair to give us your point of view.