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Danielle Weber Criticism & Public CulturePaper 2 Revision5/13/14The Twilight Saga’s Portrayal of FeminismStephenie Meyer’s character Bella Swan in the Twilight Saga is a complex one that represents and contradicts the idea of feminism in several ways. Her “performance of feminity… from a feminist perspective” (Burtchardt, 2010) allows you to analyze how she enacts these characteristics through gender criticism. Analyzing Bella Swan’s performance and development throughout the saga helps explain why women who have feminist beliefs still read and enjoy these books and movies and why many feminist scholars and readers have labeled Bella as an antifeminist character, when she actually represents a positive image of contemporary feminism.Choosing gender criticism to delve into and look at these traits makes the most sense because it allows an examination of the “symbolic interactions of particular cultures.” (Burtchardt, 2010) The Twilight Saga has certainly created its own fandom culture and represents the feminist culture as well. How feminity and masculinity are conveyed in The Twilight Saga and how these elements embody different ideas of what feminism is, are displayed through Bella. Bella of course being the main performer and individual with whom the readers commonly connect to because even though she has been deemed antifeminist she is in fact not, and that is how she has been able to establish a connect with so many people. Issues with Defining FeminismThis Saga has received a lot of negative feedback “accusing Meyer, the author, of anti-feminist sentiments” (Parkin, 2010). However, millions of women still flock to the films and have read the books. Creating a huge fandom of “Twi-hards,” this could be because the idea of feminism is something that “fewer and fewer girls and young women are willing to identify themselves as.” (Peterson, 2012) Even though the women and girls who participate in this series may in fact have views that are feminist in nature. This is likely because it is unclear to many people including scholars, as to what contemporary feminism actually means. There are currently only extreme views of feminism displayed in the media to young girls in today’s society and this makes it difficult for these young women to relate. While Meyer's character Bella is a more modern, but moderate portrayal of feminism and relatable to girls. Peterson a scholar even addresses this issue by saying “like several feminist media critics before me, I find myself troubled by a “dirty” pleasure: I love Twilight. I fully recognize the numerous feminist objections to this particular text yet I was completely swallowed by the four books one summer.” (Peterson, 2012). It is contradictions like this that make the character of Bella Swan and the entire saga so interesting and it brings up the fact that there is not just one view of feminism. This is especially true in the Post Feminism era that we are all currently a part of. Stephenie Meyer, responded to fans’ attacks on the series by saying that feminism to her means “being able to choose.” (Peterson, 2012) In this case, she meant Bella choosing to be a vampire, being with Edward, and deciding what kind of lifestyle she wanted to lead portrays feminism. This is likely why this saga is so relatable to its fans, Bella is flawed and waivers on some of her decisions but she is confronted with a lot of choices and in the end she does what makes her happy. For Stephenie Meyer, Bella Swan is a heroine who throughout the book series is learning about herself and choosing what she wants out of life. Which is something that many of the consumers of Twilight are going through or went through as teenage girls. So Meyer’s argument in a sense explains why so many females are drawn to this series and develop such an attachment and affection for the books and the characters. Sexuality and Feminism Another connection that teenage readers could have made according to Diamond (2011) is a connection to Bella in their search for an understanding of their sexuality. In today’s society “sexuality, presents a conundrum for young women. On the one hand, the prevailing ideology relentlessly sexualizes them within the cultural practices of heterosexuality. On the other, they are dissuaded from taking control of the sexual ‘script’ of desire and are instead encouraged to remain sexually passive.” (Diamond, 2011) Resulting in young woman being dissuaded from discovering their sexuality. Bella is shown discovering her sexuality throughout this series and she does not remain passive about it. Allowing other young women to feel comfortable with the changes that they are experiencing. In doing so “Twilight portrays this central dilemma for young women on the cusp of sexual maturity and full adulthood. Meyer’s heroine, in her romance with a vampire, confronts and works through the same conflict facing many young women.” (Diamond, 2011) In reality teenage girls do not have to deal with vampires while they are find their grasp on their sexuality, it remains that Bella Swan is a teenage girl, which is relatable to a large number of people. Relatability is one reason for Twilight’s exceptional success. Another relatable characteristic of Twilight is its overall capacity to provide fantasy resolutions to some of the intense conflicts and contradictions girls face growing up in the twenty-first century. (Jarvis, 2014) Bella has conflicts and contradictions throughout the series. She doesn’t know what she wants at the beginning of the series when she moves to Forks and although she loves Edward she has feelings for Jacob. This and conflicts with her father Charlie about these two boys is something that girls experience day to day. That is why Twilight has a great deal in common with earlier romances (Jarvis, 2014), which allowed for women to cope and therefore does not betray the “feminine perspective.” (Burcthardt, 2010) Contrarily it reinforces the idea that we need to take charge of our “script” and how we want to execute our feminity. Bella executes her feminity while she struggles through these contradictions and conflicts and that is what leads her to choosing to be with Edward and a vampire to execute her feminity. With all of these empowering instances of self-discovery in a book that girls can relate to, where a young woman accepts her sexuality and makes decisions about how she wants to live her life display signs of antifeminism? Rather Bella depicts what Stephenie Meyer views to be feminism and shows Meyer’s argument that “one of the weird things about modern feminism is that some feminists seem to be putting their own limits on women’s choices ” to be true. (Peterson) Which is what is causing all of these contradictions in the first place, and confusing scholars and women about what feminism is.In the case of Bella, she makes choices that ensure she feels like she is the best version of herself. It just so happens she feels like this when she is with Edward. In Eclipse, Bella even says, “It was not a choice between Edward and Jacob. It was a choice between who she should be and who she is.” Which is a statement that rejects the arguments that there are unhealthy “gender depictions in the Twilight books because of the way that “Edward is in control of Bella’s sexuality.” (Parkin, 2010) Bella is clearly in control of her sexuality and has made her choice on how she will live compared to how she “should” where in a very feminist fashion she defies the gender normative she is provided with.It is simply not true that Edward controls Bella’s sexuality and this false claim is confronted by Diamond’s argument that “Meyer still manages to convey a narrative of Bella’s quest for a desire of her own.” Bella is very sexually aware of her needs and knows that she wants Edward. She is also “conscious of her ability to attract Edward.” (Diamond, 2011) In Breaking Dawn although it is against Edward’s wishes, Bella seduces him and uses her knowledge of her sexual power to satisfy her sexual appetite. Obviously, contradicting the claims that Bella is the anachronistically helpless damsel (Diamond, 2011) or that Edward has control over Bella’s decisions. In fact Bella frequently goes against Edward’s wishes and demands that things be done her way. This happens in every book and he always succumbs to her demands. Even when it upsets him greatly Bella knows what to do to ensure that she can be where she wants to be and do what she wants to do.It is true when concerning Bella’s sexual appetite that Edward will not have cave in this instance and have sex with her until they are married which is not traditionally feminist. However, this is a story about a relationship and few people are “true feminist” in the most basic definition. It is unlikely that this series would have been so wildly successful if Bella had been a bra burning activist. So this compromise is yet another choice Bella made. She decided to wait until she was married. Which was another way that allowed for the book to connect to the audience. However just because they wait until marriage to have sex there are other occurrences in the book where she is still shown as a sexual being and Bella and Edward still have a physical relationship. Those who criticize Bella’s choice to wait are in a sense antifeminist themselves. Who has the power to define what being feminist allows you to do. When Bella decided to marry Edward and become a vampire instead of immediately going to college that was her prerogative. Critics of this choice are essentially saying “you can’t choose a family on your own terms and still be considered a strong woman.” (Jarvis, 2014)Even after the feminist movement woman today still risk “damage to their reputations, abandonment, pregnancy and abuse as they embark on this significant period in their development. Furthermore, young women are constrained by the discourse of the ‘double standard.” (Diamond, 2011) By Bella making a choice that allowed her to be happy and that was on her terms when it came down to it, how does that make her anything but a strong and independent woman? She did not have to marry him, she wanted to spend her life with him anyway it was merely the pressures of society and what people would think about her that made her hesitant. It wasn’t the fact that she did not want to marry Edward it was just the timing that made her conflicted. Our culture tells us that a freshly graduated high-school student in modern days is not “suppose” to get married before he or she goes to college or has other life experiences. This decision is more heavily scrutinized than at any other time in history. So Bella broke through this ideology and did what she wanted, although it was a journey and seemingly difficult. This choice showed that she is fiercely independent and strong, and by overcoming the limitations that are put on women she performed the basic principle behind the feminist movement in the first place. A compromise was made with Edward and she overcame the “double standard” that woman have a choice as long as they make those choices at certain times that are deemed acceptable by society. When women are expected to go to college and get married but only at certain points in their lives; “how is that empowering? Are there rules about if, when, and how we can love or marry and if, when, and how we have kids? Are there jobs we can and can’t have in order to be a “real” feminist? Those limitations seem anti-feminist in basic principle.” (Jarvis, 2014) In this Post Feminist world, we are told to “not feel shame for staying at home, showing cleavage, or finding pleasure in “post feminist” objects. (Peterson, 2012) There are so many contradictions on what is “true feminism.” “By understanding how girls are expected to conform to rigid stereotypes of femininity even though they are now also expected to succeed at school and in careers” (Jarvis, 2014) makes it easier to understand while this text is riddled with contradictions and may seem anti-feminist at times. When really just plays into the complex meaning on what being feminist actually is, it is no wonder that feminist scholars are so ambivalent when it comes to this saga. Contemporary romances often reflect the reformed social position of women and changes in heterosexual relationships. (Jarvis, 2014) Bella is simply that, she is a reflection of romance and the position of women in society today. To say that she is a poor representation of feminism is simply a call to attention to the post feminist culture that we live in. The double standard that is put on woman is real and with people who identify as fans but “push back against the romance conventions of the novel even if they understood them as such” is what makes this series so perfect when analyzing it from a gender criticism standpoint. (Parkin, 2010) This book series in effect draws woman in and gains their readership and devotion to the films but at the same time they criticize Bella for making choices that many women still make today. All of these contradictions spring from “Post feminism, which broadly encompasses a set of assumptions, disseminated within media forms, having to do with the ‘pastness’ of feminism.” This ideological attitude of “pastness” suggests, despite ample evidence to the contrary, that the battle for gender equality has been won; feminism is thus unnecessary, superfluous, and/or a total buzz kill.” (Peterson, 2012) This of course is not true but the quote offers an explanation into why the text is so controversial and why there are such different accounts into whether Stephenie Meyers created an antifeminist saga.In conclusion Stephenie Meyer’s series gives young women an opportunity to join Bella on her journey of self-discovery and grasp on her sexuality in a relatable way. Proving her performance of femininity is in fact not antifeminist in nature. Rather this text serves as a scope through which you can view feminism in different ways. It also confronts the issues that our society has with defining feminism today and makes the backlash and support that is seemingly contradictory more understandable and when it comes to this specific series. Through the scope of gender criticism we can see that there is no longer one way to perform “femininity.”Works CitedBurgchardt, C. R. (2010). Gender criticism. in readings in rhetorical criticism. (4) 561-62. State College, PA: Strata.Diamond, F. (2011). Beauty and the beautiful beast: Stephenie Meyer’s twilight saga and the quest for a transgressive female desire. 26 (67) 41-55. Australian Feminist Studies. Jarvis, C. (2014). The twilight of feminism? Stephanie Meyer’s saga and the contradictions of contemporary girlhood. 45(2) 101-115. Children’s Literature in Education. Meyer, S. (2007). Eclipse. Meyer, S. (2008). Breaking Dawn.Parkin, R.H. (2010). Breaking faith: disrupted expectations and ownership in Stephanie Meyer twilight sage. 2(2) 61-85. The Centre for Research in Young People’s Texts and Cultures.Peterson, A.H. (2012). That teenage feeling: twilight, fantasy, and feminist readers. 12(1) 51-67. Feminist Media Studies. ................
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