Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

["Angela Hoffman" <>]

Though I sent this reply directly to Ben and his friend, Britt, I thought I
would post my response here in case this topic was of interest to anyone
else.  I even added a little more at the end about a more recent book that
has similar disturbing themes about romance and fear/violence.

Angela

****************

This is the perfect email query to come across my inbox on a day when we're
twiddling our thumbs here in east Tennessee trying to figure out when the
winter storm will hit us!

Yes, there is a lot of discussion about Twilight and its romanticization
(sp?) of abusive relationships, but it's mostly confined to small feminist
communities online. I became interested in this very topic last spring after
reading the series of books.  Even though they were easy, quick reads, I
couldn't get over how much the overtly unhealthy relationships in the books
were romanticized, not only in terms of the bloodlust but also in terms of
the controlling, stalking, and isolating behavior that is portrayed as
romantic in the books.  One of the most frequently cited popular analyses is
a blog post called "The Case Against Edward Cullen"
(http://pamgutz.livejournal.com/6499.html).  This personal response has been
cross-posted, linked, and tweeted in many areas.

Ms. Magazine also did a short article about the books and their portrayal of
the female protagonist, Bella, in their spring 2009 issue.  An excerpt of
the essay can be found at http://www.msmagazine.com/spring2009/Twilight.asp.

Finally, when I did all of this sleuthing last spring, I discovered that
there are serious researchers attempting to analyze the Twilight phenomenon
and its impact of relationships.  A trio of communication researchers from
the University of Missouri - Rolla (Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, Elizabeth
Behm-Morawitz, & Melissa Click) have been surveying and interviewing fans
for a research project.  I tried to contact them as a violence prevention
person last spring re: my interest in their research, but I never received a
response.  The most recent post I can find about their study is on one of
the major Twilight fan sites:
http://www.twilightmoms.com/2009/07/twilight-research-project-at-twicon/.

I'm alternately horrified and fascinated with the current trend in young
adult fiction that juxtaposes supernatural/paranormal violence with
eroticism.  Though Twilight is the most widely known example, this portrayal
of relationships is not unique to Twilight.  The theme of the "bad boy"
supernatural and the regular girl who loves/fears him is very common in
young adult (YA) literature.  As an adult reader of YA fiction, I have read
more then a few of these.  There's a new fallen angel book that's receiving
rave reviews from teens and Twilight fans, but its themes of abuse are even
more disgustingly blatant and unsettling.  If you want a taste of the
concerns for that book, look up HUSH, HUSH on Amazon.com.  (I checked HUSH,
HUSH out from the library and read it myself, so that's not just
editorializing there.  It's horrible, but all of these readers are gushing
about how dark and sexy it is.  It makes Edward from Twilight look like a
nice kitten.  I was sure to put in my two cents, including analysis of the
writing and style too for good measure, in MY Amazon review ;-) ).   

Hope this helps in some way!  

Best,

Angela

Angela M. Hoffman, M.S.
Public Health Educator - Violence & Rape Prevention
Community Assessment & Health Promotion
Knox County Health Department
140 Dameron Avenue
Knoxville, TN  37917
865-215-5061

<blocked::mailto:>
 


-----Original Message-----
From: 

[mailto:]
 On Behalf Of Ben Atherton-Zeman
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2010 8:00 PM
To: 
;
 
;

Cc: 
;
 
;
;
 

Subject: Analysis of sexual/domestic violence in "Twilight" and other
vampiretales

Hello, friends!  My friend Professor Britt Abel of Macalester College is
teaching a first-year seminar on vampires this fall.  She's wondering if
there has been any writing, scholarly or otherwise, about sexual and
domestic violence in the stories.

 

Not being familiar with the genre, I asked her for more information.  She
responded thus:

 

This is the deal:  in Twilight (and the Vampire Diaries and other such
tales), vampires aren't exactly monsters but try to blend in with high
school culture and live from animal--rather than human--blood.  But the
vampires have super strength, and you're never sure if they are going to
fall off the wagon in terms of their diet.  These sexy, beautiful male
vampires have relationships with human females, but there's tension built
around whether the vampire might, basically, ravage his girl.  In one
Twilight book, when the vampire and his human partner have sex, she ends up
getting bruised up, simply because her partner is so strong.  (Talk about a
literalized stereotype:  he hurt me because he loves me so much.)

 

I'll certainly be doing research in the library and tracking down articles
about these types of works (although I have not had much success finding
academic articles about Twilight yet), but I'd just be interested in hearing
if anyone is talking about this type of (particularly teen) fiction/tv/film
in terms of domestic/sexual violence.

 

I'd appreciate any help you all could give her.  Britt's email is abel
<mailto:>
 @macalester.edu - please respond to her, not to
me.  

 

Until the violence stops, Ben.  

 

Ben Atherton-Zeman, Maynard, MA USA
Actor, Comedian, Feminist and Husband
Presenting a One-Man Play: "Voices of Men," Educational Theatre for
Sexual/Domestic Violence Prevention - video excerpts at
http://www.voicesofmen.org

Booking information: 978-897-3619

 

Quote of the Month, end of January 2010:

"The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream
shall never die."  - Ted Kennedy, 1932-2009

 

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