Many young women, including myself, have at, one point or another, looked up to Bella Swan from the Twilight Saga and have wished to have a life half as adventurous and love filled as hers, but what if impressionable young girls having her as a role model is actually doing a lot more harm than we wish to admit? Today’s society is progressing towards a time where women are strong and independent, but the female depictions in the Twilight Saga do not always match up with current feminist ideologies.

What Are Some Examples of “Anti-Feminism” in Twilight?

There are three clear examples of the Twilight Saga integrating anti-feminist beliefs into their movies and books. For example:

Bella feels better when she is around or in contact with either Jacob or Edward [1].

Bella is killed while giving birth in Breaking Dawn – Part 1[2].

Bella still loves Edward the same, if not even more, even though he always thirsts for her blood [3].

Before you think any further about how incorrect I might seem, allow me to explain each of these points regarding how they are ultimately anti-feminist. It is entirely understandable how these examples on their own seem to have no real issue with them at all, however, looking at each of them through a more critical lens allows for more understanding of how the Twilight Saga is, overall, not a feminist series.

How, Exactly, Are These Anti-Feminist?

First, let us discuss how Bella feels when does not have either Jacob or Edward by her side—she feels alone, vulnerable, and depressed. This could be interpreted in a way that explains that she simply enjoys being around people she cares about deeply, but the fact that Jacob is also a love interest puts a whole different meaning behind these lost and upsetting feelings that she experiences during her times alone. When Edward leaves Bella in New Moon, she becomes severely depressed all the way up until Jacob enters her life again which shows the audience that Bella does not feel secure and happy unless she has a male love interest in her life [1].

Next, I pointed out how Bella was killed in Breaking Dawn – Part 1 while she was giving birth. While Renesemee is in Bella's womb, she breaks all of Bella bones, makes her drink blood, and eventually kills her. Although her pregnancy was a short one, it was extremely painful and very obviously life-threatening. She would have been able to get an abortion from Carlisle, especially because it was killing her, and there was virtually no other way out of her dying. However, the scriptwriters decided that Bella should proceed with her painful pregnancy, enabling the mindset that Bella reproducing and birthing this child matters a lot more than Bella's life itself. It also gives off an “anti-abortion agenda” [2]. There can be arguments explaining that the reason Bella kept Renesmee was to move the storyline along, but myself and many others believe that the storyline could have still moved along even if Renesemee did not end up killing Bella while she was giving birth.

Lastly, Bella makes it noticeably clear that she does not mind or care that Edward constantly wants to hurt her because of his vampiric urges—in fact, she seems to love him even more and is even more interested in him because of it. The simple statement of Bella wanting Edward even though he wants to kill her is, in itself, sexualizing violence [3]. Throughout all of the films, Bella repeatedly throws herself into danger for Edward, signaling that being with him, a man, is more important than life itself [3]. Another idea that is consistently shown throughout the films is Bella’s physical reactions to violent scenes. Her breathing is always one of the main things that the director makes sure to include at an extremely high, almost disturbing, volume, which can signify Bella’s sexual arousal during these violent scenes [3].

Although it can be hard to admit that one of the most well-known and loved movie series of all time does not advocate for feminism and teaches young girls the wrong things when it comes to men, it is important to be aware of these kinds of negative depictions and messages that are being sent to others because it allows us as a society to call out and criticize work such as this and also allows for us to challenge these harmful representations and narratives. Twilight is one of my favorite movie series, but after looking more into the anti-feminist views the films take on, it makes me lose a little bit of love for it.