Dear Readers,


I now consider this blog to be my Juvenelia. Have fun perusing the archives, and find me at my new haunt, here.

Monday, March 09, 2009

Twilight Alarmism Gone Wild

via Bronte Blog, we find one particular college paper columnist (god bless em, for I was once one and I understand the bombast that they spew on a personal level) fulminating about the romance-porn that is the Twilight novels. Sigh. Much as I abhor the misogyny embedded within the books and Stephenie Meyer's over-fondness for hearts stopping and near-swoons and SPARKLES, I really don't think they're that significant or dangerous. And I find this connection ludicrous:

But Twilight’s brand of porn, otherwise known as “girl porn,” does not rely on graphic material to captivate its female audience. Rather, this special type of porn manifests itself in the form of emotional binges, excessive romanticizing and interaction with impossibly perfect male characters.

Girl porn has existed for years in the various forms, from the clever and sophisticated Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte novels to the less tactful bodice-rippers by garden-variety romance novelists. Both kinds have had their share of success, though neither has claimed the limelight the way “Twilight” has.
It's hard to even know what to say to that latter point except, yeah, I think the two women who probably did the most to advance the novel form, like, ever, are a bit more than girl porn. But maybe that's just me. Ask Harold Bloom.

In conclusion, wherever there are college students, there will be women mocking other women's silly-womanly tastes in order to elevate themselves above their fellow womb-owners and please the boyz in the frat. That's not feminism. Feminists thoughtfully explore the cultural trends behind teen-girl-fads and then remind their readers that hey, it's just art, and we should train our anger on the patriarchy, not sexy-chaste vampire stories ;)

1 comment:

  1. This article calls Jane Austen girl porn, therefore it cannot have any redeeming features. That's just science.

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