All of the references I will be making in this post are from an essay by Brittany Hale, titled "New Myths: Twilight and the Myths of Post-Feminism
I chose to show and further excerpts of Hale's essay because I really enjoyed her opinion and believe it gives a lot of insight into out discussion of the different ways post-feminism is expressed in twilight. In this essay, the writer is arguing against the idea of Twilight being a positive representation of post-feminism with her thesis statement appearing to be, "The Twilight series pretends to reverse another myth, that of patriarchy and the hysterical, weak woman. Bella Swan is presented as an intelligent,independent, and thoroughly modern young woman who would make early feminists proud, at least at a glance. However, by relying on modern, essentialist stereotypes for Edward Cullen,Jacob Black, and Bella Swan,Twilight actually perpetuates the post-feminist myth, which is simply a disguise for the old monsters of patriarchy and sexism"
The definition of post-feminism, as seen through the eyes of Hale is, "Applied to young women, who are thought to benefit from the women’s movement through expanded access to employment and education and new family arrangements but at the same time do not push for further political change" (Aronson 904)
Her thesis makes a strong claim against Twilight, claiming that, though Bella is supposedly this strong and independent woman, as the novel continues she reverts back to a stereotypical male-reliant woman. Being defined as a klutz, there are countless examples throughout the novel where Bella relies on Edward rather than being self-dependent. "The woman is at fault for her own weaknesses, and she necessitates the male protector; therefore the men (non-vegetarian vampires) cannot be blamed for desiring to consume and kill her." In fact, rather than pursing her own education and further self-improvement, Bella remains home, where she can rely on Edward.
An instance where post-feminism actually does appear in Twilight is not in the protagonist Bella, but instead in her love interest, Edward. The term "post-feminist male" is used in Hale's essay referring to Edward. What defines him as this appears to be his chivalry and desire to hold true to his morality by wanting to wait until marriage to partake in sexual relations with Bella. His astute desire to control and protect Bella from all dangers, although the may be chivalrous, I believe counteracts this notion of him being a model of post-feminism as he is only emphasizing the opinion that men are supposed to be protectors of less capable women.
The more likely recipient of the term post-feminism would be Edward's competition, Jacob. The aim of Jacob appears to be more directed towards the freedom and individuality of Bella, encouraging her to break away from the overbearing nature of Edward so that she may have fun, thus allowing her to choose her own destiny without the same dominance that Edward held. The novel appears to almost mock and condescend this idea by making Bella all the more reliant on Edward. As Hale states, "The condescending manner in which the novels treat Jacob’s regard for Bella reflects the condescending view of feminism from the post-feminist stance, as if it is sweet the feminists want women to have independence, but naïve to think they are strong enough."
I chose to show and further excerpts of Hale's essay because I really enjoyed her opinion and believe it gives a lot of insight into out discussion of the different ways post-feminism is expressed in twilight. In this essay, the writer is arguing against the idea of Twilight being a positive representation of post-feminism with her thesis statement appearing to be, "The Twilight series pretends to reverse another myth, that of patriarchy and the hysterical, weak woman. Bella Swan is presented as an intelligent,independent, and thoroughly modern young woman who would make early feminists proud, at least at a glance. However, by relying on modern, essentialist stereotypes for Edward Cullen,Jacob Black, and Bella Swan,Twilight actually perpetuates the post-feminist myth, which is simply a disguise for the old monsters of patriarchy and sexism"
The definition of post-feminism, as seen through the eyes of Hale is, "Applied to young women, who are thought to benefit from the women’s movement through expanded access to employment and education and new family arrangements but at the same time do not push for further political change" (Aronson 904)
Her thesis makes a strong claim against Twilight, claiming that, though Bella is supposedly this strong and independent woman, as the novel continues she reverts back to a stereotypical male-reliant woman. Being defined as a klutz, there are countless examples throughout the novel where Bella relies on Edward rather than being self-dependent. "The woman is at fault for her own weaknesses, and she necessitates the male protector; therefore the men (non-vegetarian vampires) cannot be blamed for desiring to consume and kill her." In fact, rather than pursing her own education and further self-improvement, Bella remains home, where she can rely on Edward.
An instance where post-feminism actually does appear in Twilight is not in the protagonist Bella, but instead in her love interest, Edward. The term "post-feminist male" is used in Hale's essay referring to Edward. What defines him as this appears to be his chivalry and desire to hold true to his morality by wanting to wait until marriage to partake in sexual relations with Bella. His astute desire to control and protect Bella from all dangers, although the may be chivalrous, I believe counteracts this notion of him being a model of post-feminism as he is only emphasizing the opinion that men are supposed to be protectors of less capable women.
The more likely recipient of the term post-feminism would be Edward's competition, Jacob. The aim of Jacob appears to be more directed towards the freedom and individuality of Bella, encouraging her to break away from the overbearing nature of Edward so that she may have fun, thus allowing her to choose her own destiny without the same dominance that Edward held. The novel appears to almost mock and condescend this idea by making Bella all the more reliant on Edward. As Hale states, "The condescending manner in which the novels treat Jacob’s regard for Bella reflects the condescending view of feminism from the post-feminist stance, as if it is sweet the feminists want women to have independence, but naïve to think they are strong enough."