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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to agree that Twilight has set feminism back by 10 years?

114 replies

ThatVikRinA22 · 12/05/2010 22:33

i loved Buffy, ended up having to buy all the series on DVD despite being in my 30's! Buffy was a strong female kick ass kinda girl. i loved the series, the characters. i got totally hooked along with the whole family. i felt sort of lost when we got to the finale.

so it was with interest i watched Twilight and New Moon with my teenage dd....

now i can sort of understand why women like the twilight thing....all dark and brooding, but purlease....does Bella really need 'protecting' by a vampire and werewolf who fight over her? while she sits and simpers?

id rather DD watch buffy.

OP posts:
EricNorthmansmistress · 12/05/2010 22:38

YABU

BigWeeHag · 12/05/2010 22:39

YANBU. Not even a little bit. Disastrous they are.

GypsyMoth · 12/05/2010 22:40

its not bella thats being protected,just her blood!!

Tidey · 12/05/2010 22:40

She does come across as rather pathetic. The character is actually less irritating in the films than she is in the books though, so maybe you shouldn't read them. Although the way the actress never closes her mouth starts to grate after a while.

DramaInPyjamas · 12/05/2010 22:42

YANBU. I didn't really enjoy Twilight that much tbh. I just don't get the hype.
Buffy rocks though!

CastleDouglas · 12/05/2010 22:44

There's a comment from Jacob in Eclipse about Edward being a control freak and abusive teenage relationships, and tbh I see his point*. I only read these 'novels' because DD told me to, honest!

  • I know it's not real.
scoutliam · 12/05/2010 22:45

Oh my God yes, couldn't believe the not so subtle "girls it's up to you to stay chaste men cannot control their urges" message.
Made me think I was back in west of Ireland at the convent school I fought against attended.

The author has admitted her mormon background coloured the story somewhat.

It's very like lion witch and wardrobe in it's not so subtle attempt to brainwash young adults/children.

SirBoobAlot · 12/05/2010 22:46

Its just shite, to be frank. The books were easy reading whilst I was pregnant, and I watched the first film out of interest. Haven't even bothered with the second.

YANBU.

Tidey · 12/05/2010 22:46

I'm not fond of the way Bella's dad is all useless at housework and can't cook for himself despite being on his own so long, so when she moves in, she takes over all the cooking and laundry etc, because She's A Girl.

ThatVikRinA22 · 12/05/2010 22:47

i just didnt get Twilight at all and i think there were some way sexier episodes of buffy....when she got it together with spike for instance! (think that one had to be shown after the watershed for obvious reasons!)....i got a bit hot under the collar!

twilight all a bit too simpering and pathetic for me i think.

OP posts:
ThatVikRinA22 · 12/05/2010 22:50

it was DH who said he read somewhere that twilight had set feminism back by 10 years...he agreed.

we all prefer buffy here then!

OP posts:
Yingers74 · 12/05/2010 22:50

As a huge buffy, I thought twilight was a weak copy of it with far less humour and a pretty weak storyline. The relationship between the main two characters has more or less been lifted from every doomed tragic young lovers film/story! However, I don't think it has anymore of an affect on feminism than any other fairytale or blockbuster film. I worry more about wags!

On a more shallow note, I do quite enjoy looking at r pat!

tweetymum · 12/05/2010 22:58

Have a look at this then, its brilliant and just what you need!

Oh, YANBU by the way. Says me who writes fanfictions for Buffy

ThatVikRinA22 · 12/05/2010 23:09

thats what should have happened...

i just think buffy is a much better example to show young girls than the very wet simpering Bella is.

(and Spike and Angel were way hotter than Edward!)

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differentnameforthis · 12/05/2010 23:11

Twilight - one woman's choice between bestiality & necrophilia.

It really is crap! I haven't read the books but watched the first film because of all the hype.

Odd how she was the new girl in school & everyone knew her, wanted to be her friend, all the boys wanted her, the guy all the girls wanted (but he didn't want them) wanted her....yeah right!

Utter tosh...the weak beauty needs to be saved by the brooding guy, who turns out to be a vampire!

That's some time in my life I'll never get back!

NeverPushWhenItSaysPull · 12/05/2010 23:12

YABU

If the characters/atmosphere/plot in Twilight manage to set feminism back 10 years, feminism ought to be ashamed of itself.

It's just a story! You do know vampires aren't real, right?(although David Boreanaz could bite me any day ) And I think some men are suspicious of it because it raises the bar for their behaviour a bit high: perfect-looking, extremely wealthy, socially adroit, door-opening man falls in love with girl and refuses to jump her bones because he respects her.

Tortington · 12/05/2010 23:12

i love the twighlight series of booksl but bella did get right on my tits.

MrsvWoolf · 12/05/2010 23:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

pickledmonkey · 12/05/2010 23:17

buffy used to wind me up, though any sort of vampire feminism type thing to me is pretty lame

Macforme · 12/05/2010 23:31

I enjoyed the Twilight books (to be honest I'll read anything...!) but totally agree that they send a very poor anti feminist message out.

Buffy on the other hand.. confirmed addict! My DD1 was 11 when she got hooked on the series, forced me to watch a few until I was hooked too (we even had a cardboard full size Spike in her room!) and we have all 7 seasons on DVD and still watch it on Scifi channel! We cried when the series ended on Tv....

LOVE Buffy... humour, kick ass women, brilliant script.. we still quote it endlessly to eachother and play 'finish the quote and name the episode'.

Plus there is nothing sexier than a badass vampire!!!
Vicarinatutu... I still remember watching THAT Buffy episode (Smashed) and then having to rewind to watch it again... and again...

Edwards a control freak ass and Bella is boring!

ThatVikRinA22 · 12/05/2010 23:31

lol at differentnameforthis....yep. sums it up.

im not into 'the whole vampire feminism type of thing'

i just think where buffy set girls a good example (and it was watched by many teens) that Twilight doesn't (and is also watched by many teens)

having a teenage daughter i know what id rather her be seeing, and that is strong female characters rather than simpering wet ones.These series are aimed at the teen market.

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ThatVikRinA22 · 12/05/2010 23:35

(and i LOVE joss whedon....am still pissed that Dollhouse got axed. )

i just think the whole Buffy thing sent a better message for teens than the twilight thing.

luckily DD didnt seem that interested in Twilight and has given up on the book already. ive not read the book and i dont think it would interest me.

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BritFish · 13/05/2010 01:17

[warning: long rant ahead. i wrote an article on twilight and its women-hating ways]

we know its just a story, but god, there are some young girls out there who are very impressionable agreed? and these books are just awful. apart from the fact they are badly written and the films are even worse they [if you're going to be really petty&picky, which i am!] promote the following points:

-no sex before marriage. its wrong.
-oh, and being a normal horny teenage girl is wrong and bad. get married.
-and dont bother with contraception!
[although vampires cant have kids right? wrong. despite the Twilight vampires bodies staying in the same state from the day they were bitten -according to S.Meyer-, the females eggs dont work but Edward has fresh sperm ...of course it's the women's fault!]
-divorced parents are useless and cant look after themselves
-do what your boyfriend tells you or DIE
-if your boyfriend cruelly casts you aside with no explanation, its okay to take him back. after all, he only did it because he loves you, right?
-equally, its okay to cast your best friend, who helped you get over said boyfriends abandonment, aside when boyfriend comes back. after all, who needs nice, hardworking, happy boys when an intense brooding sparkly vampire is around?
-being that intense at 17 is normal. because when you're 17, you definately know what you want for the rest of your life.
-its okay for your sparkly vampire boyfriend to stalk you.
women are useless and airheaded...unless they're vampires or werewolves.
-crazy people hate kids.
-if you have been totally against marriage for all of your 17/18 years for perfectly valid reasons, you only need to spend a page or two debating this life changing decision!
-education isnt important, boys are important.
-oh, and ditching your family and human self is okay, you dont even need to consider it for more than a page here or there, after all, its your sparkly boyfriend who is important!

some points about the author
-its okay to give every female character some kind of flaw or one dimensional traditional role.
we have a ditzy mother who relies on men, a mum figure who is only that, and doesnt fight, a bitchy baby hungry maniac, an ex/mental home resident who is supposedly good but cant be around the baby [because she has mental issues, obviously ]
we have a werewolf female who is a 'freak' because she cant give birth, we have various emptyheaded human females, we have a physically scarred woman which dominates her whole character.

and then we have Bella, the main character who the author says is open to interpretation but when asked to describe how she saw her, gave an exact description of herself physically.
bella is smart [she reads romeo and juliet...because obviously that qualifies you as smart] and brave [foolish in love]
but awkward [her flaw, which all male characters find endearing]

oh and the overall most damaging thing that Twilight teaches our kids:

-vampires are sparkly. because all girls love sparkly things, right?

SolidGoldBrass · 13/05/2010 01:21

Ah yes, abusive relationships are soooo sexy. What a great message to send out to young girls.
(This is just one of shitloads of online deconstructions of Twilight along these lines. Give me the Anita Blake books any day, at least up until the point where they completely jumped the shark)

SolidGoldBrass · 13/05/2010 01:35

This is another good one.

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