Twilight's Rape Fantasy

Sorry for the lack of blog posts this week. I attended a holiday celebration which involved watching all Star Wars films for 15 hours (and beer). So, at least it was for a good reason.

For Christmas this year, I know many teens (and adults) will be receiving one if not all of the Twilight films. Because of this, I thought it might finally be time for a blog post describing my hatred for the books and films. Disclaimer: I find nothing redeemable about Twilight...be prepared.

I find MANY things about the series to be complete bullshit, but today we'll focus on the first book and movie. There is a scene in both where Bella is threatened with gang rape. After she runs off by herself at night in a big city, a group of creeper men follow her and surround her. In the book, Bella thinks of ways to defend herself, while in the film she stands frozen (not surprisingly because the men had weapons and surrounded her).

Just in time, Edward saves the day. You see, he followed her because he knew young women shouldn't wander alone at night. He knows Bella is helpless and danger prone so he "watches" her. After he threatens to kill the group of men, he then scolds Bella explaining that she couldn't possibly defend herself and how stupid to go out alone at night.

Problem? Scolding Bella suggests that the attempted rape was her fault (Edward can read minds so he knows their intentions were rape). Women are often blamed for sexual assault and the solution isn't to "stay home" because the majority of sexual assaults are committed by people women and men KNOW (such as A CREEPER STALKER VAMPIRE WHO FULLY ADMITS HE CAN KILL YOU AT ANY MOMENT). Also, it's not 1776 when women can't leave the house without a man. This is a scare tactic that clearly advocates women remaining in the home.

However, what disturbs me the most about this is the idea that this horrifying scene becomes a fantasy for women and girls. Rape is terrifying and real. It isn't something to fantasize about so that your vampire boyfriend can "save" you from an attack. The book and film manage to turn a reality that we should all be outraged about into a "romantic" scene where Bella and Edward really start to fall in love. Can you say "bullshit"?

Therefore, the message is that young women shouldn't go out alone at night unless they have a vampire boyfriend that can save them who is completely obsessed with abstinence and marriage. So...like a vampire version of a Duggar?

So, this holiday season, if you must watch Twilight, please, please, remember to keep your thinking cap on whenever something "romantic" threatens to invade your incredibly valuable and capable intelligent mind. Happy Holidays!