I think I'm somewhere between you and blueinkedfrost.
a book that acknowledges the reality of male vs. female physical strength and tells girls that they don't have to be ashamed for being physically weaker than boys is also nice. Or would be, if it were written well, which Twilight isn't. Much of speculative fiction has heroines who are basically men with boobs, and who can do everything any man can do physically. The heroine often legitimizes herself through beating men at a physical game. These works often say in so many words that a woman who cannot or does not want to do this is weak, stupid, and utterly worthless.
Agree so much. I've complained about it a lot of times, so you know all my thoughts there. And I agree with what you're saying about the fantasy.
Part of the problem, though, is that a lot of people - maybe because they're new to fantasies put in writing, maybe because they have poor judgment, IDK - don't acknowledge the fantasy aspect. There are girls/women who talk about Edward as an objectively romantic figure. There is a resolute determination, it seems like, among fans (and critics, you're right there) to not treat it like a kink. There's a certain atmosphere of "I understand that this is not for RL" that I feel in discussions about kinks that I just don't perceive at all with Twilight fandom.
The blank-slate/severe-problems readings of Bella's personality aren't mutually exclusive, I think. It's just Watsonian vs. Doylist.
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winterfish
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Date: 2012-06-14 01:24 am (UTC)a book that acknowledges the reality of male vs. female physical strength and tells girls that they don't have to be ashamed for being physically weaker than boys is also nice. Or would be, if it were written well, which Twilight isn't. Much of speculative fiction has heroines who are basically men with boobs, and who can do everything any man can do physically. The heroine often legitimizes herself through beating men at a physical game. These works often say in so many words that a woman who cannot or does not want to do this is weak, stupid, and utterly worthless.
Agree so much. I've complained about it a lot of times, so you know all my thoughts there. And I agree with what you're saying about the fantasy.
Part of the problem, though, is that a lot of people - maybe because they're new to fantasies put in writing, maybe because they have poor judgment, IDK - don't acknowledge the fantasy aspect. There are girls/women who talk about Edward as an objectively romantic figure. There is a resolute determination, it seems like, among fans (and critics, you're right there) to not treat it like a kink. There's a certain atmosphere of "I understand that this is not for RL" that I feel in discussions about kinks that I just don't perceive at all with Twilight fandom.
The blank-slate/severe-problems readings of Bella's personality aren't mutually exclusive, I think. It's just Watsonian vs. Doylist.