Stephenie Meyer accused of brainwashing generation of young girls
Cover via Amazon
So Jordan Scott, author of a vampire novel called The Nocturne has sent Stephanie Meyer a cease and desist order accusing her of plagiarizing the plot of Breaking Dawn. Breaking Dawn is the last in Meyer’s teen vampire series “Twilight” and in case you are living under a rock, it is a book that all girls between the ages of 8 and 18 seem mysteriously compelled to read.
Stephenie Meyer accused of plagiarizing Breaking Dawn.
In fact, Twilight books have now sold 70 million copies and have been translated into more than 35 languages.
My lawyer is busy preparing a cease and desist order for Meyer to stop brainwashing my daughters. Breaking Dawn is the culmination of what can only be described as conservative Christian sexual propaganda and misinformation. Enough has been written about the fact that Meyers is a Mormon, but she could just as easily worked for either of the Bush Administrations in the Department of Ed’s sexual misinformation program.
Yes, we have a federal sexual misinformation program. It teaches our students that the only safe sex is sex within marriage and that all other sex is potentially deadly. This is also known as the Abstinance Only or earlier the Abstinance First sex education program.
Meyers continues this miseducation of our youth by having her teen heroine, Bella (yes, the heroine’s name is Bella and she’s beautiful) wait till she’s married to have sex. Of course, Bella wants to have sex before she marries her vampire boyfriend Edward, BUT sex with her vampire boyfriend will KILL her since he’s so super powerful and she’s just a weak, delicate flower. When the two are finally married, right after her high school graduation, they do have sex before she’s a vampire and it very nearly does kill her (there’s a lot of bruising and a down pillow torn to shreds by Edward in an effort not to rip her head off). Then (SPOILER ALERT) Bella becomes pregnant (have sex even once and…) and the baby is going to KILL her since it’s not fully human.
Abortion? No, never. She insists on having the baby no matter what. Oy vey. Could it get worse? Yes, because in the end, the baby is born, she dies and then is brought back to life, well, not life, but undeadness, as a vampire, the child, a girl, is perfect in every way and all who see her fall madly in love with her, and the “problem” of teen pregnancy, potentially deadly sexual acts, and marrying across class and species lines goes away.
Except for one thing: the daughter is immediately betrothed to her best friend, a werewolf by the name of Jacob. So a bit of bizarro pedophilia is thrown in just in case the sane parents reading this dreck with their children weren’t sufficiently grossed out by the crazy Christian messages about sex and pregnancy permeating the series.
It’s as if Sarah Palin could come up with a coherent story idea, set it down, and entice young girls to read it. It’s as if Bristol Palin is really Bella. It’s as if a spell of black magic has been woven and the only way to break it is to drive a stake through the heart of the book. Which is why I’m suing Stephanie Meyer as well. Not for stealing my ideas (she didn’t), but for stealing the sexual and emotional health of a generation of young women.
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And lets not forget the generation of young men being taught to feel ashamed of and frightened by the violence in their sexual desires. As a Meyer antidote maybe we can require that all teens, boys and girls alike, listen to Rubber Soul after every chapter they read. If the Beatles can’t fix this then, well, I don’t know …
Laurie, you seem a tough and caring mom. Surely you are not alone in this respect?
Girls can only be brainwashed if they’re so gullible as to believe that commercially created content has any real meaning beyond the cash register. Messages are easily ignored.
Is this generational and I’m really missing how deeply, truly credulous young girls have now become? There has always been toxic garbage pumped at us as women. The skill is learning to tune it out.
Well I must be one of those people who lives under a rock cause I’ve heard of none of this. Which of course only goes to show that living under rock may not be entirely a bad thing.
In my book, suing someone for writing stuff you don’t agree with or consider bizarro or dreck, is called an attempt at censorship. I gather you’re half-joking, but still, saying Meyer is ” … stealing the sexual and emotional health” of a generation of women is a huge statement, which I’m not convinced about, until I read a real critical treatment of Meyer’s books, or read them myself. I agree the case for abstinence until marriage has become politicized and unhealthily strident, but I don’t agree it’s necessarily a bad choice for some people, men or women.
Yes, I’m joking. And yes I try to insert a bit of critical distance in the reading of the novel. That’s why, even though my daughters had already read them, we re-read them aloud. So I could say annoyingly parental things like “Don’t you think it’s messed up that Bella wants her boyfriend to kill her?” But culture is a powerful thing and parents and critical perspectives can only go so far when faced with the breathless sexiness of teen sex that cannot but MUST happen.
As for abstinence, this is not about taking that “choice” away. The choice to engage in a variety of sexual practices safely has already been taken away in our schools because any school that takes federal dollars must teach that the only safe sex is married sex. This is misinformation. The only safer sex is sex with a condom and/or other forms of protection (dental dams, latex gloves, etc.). Marriage does not ensure fidelity and sex with multiple partners need not be life threatening.
As for teen marriage and parenthood and betrothal at birth- not to mention the ridiculous ideology of ROMANCE as all that matters in these books, well, what can I say? The stuff is somewhat dangerous dreck. How much people (girls really since most of the readers of the series are girls) swallow it or any of the similar messages available through Disney, sex ed, or marriage first programs sponsored by the federal government remains to be seen.
ques que se drek?
LOL
In response to another comment. See in context »“Marriage does not ensure fidelity and sex with multiple partners need not be life threatening.”
And I’m living proof of that!
In response to another comment. See in context »I consider myself a feminist and I don’t share in this view of Meyer’s work. If you had read the series you would understand that the character traits which led Edward to his sexual restraint and Bella to her decision to keep the baby were central to the story. The only way Edward would ever change Bella was if her life was in danger. The idea of a sexy-lovemaking-vamp-biting on the neck-non-Caeserian scene is cool, but it was never going to happen that way. I agree, Meyer is admittedly conservative. But again, read the entire series. The sensuality in it is palpable. It appeals to adult women as well. And lastly – no book should ever be considered a guide for a generation of female sexuality. I would like to think we can figure that out on our own.
I would also like to note that the comparison to Sarah Palin is ludicrious and way off base.
I am a feminist too, and a fan of Myers work.Could you of imagine the reactoin if the book if they forced her to have an abortion? Or how boring it would of been if they got married and she became a vampire. I am glad someone agrees with me.
In response to another comment. See in context »Where’s Lestat when you need him?
He became a devout Catholic like his creator!
In response to another comment. See in context »Dear Ms. Essig,
I was deeply disappointed with your review.
I am in my late 40’s, live in NYC, and have young teenagers; and the lifestyle choices of young teenagers are disturbing. Aa a mom, I spend a lot of time with my sons and daughters talking about these issues. Young teenage girls now “hook up” with young teenage boys ( have sex) in the hopes that afterward, the guys will make them their girlfriends ( and yes, they never do and are just one night stands). This book calls out to young women because they want an “Edward” in their life, a young man who is kind, courteous, a gentleman, a protector, loyal ( doesn’t cheat… later in marriage, we call that infidelity) and only has eyes for Bella. He wants to wait till he is married, and I consider these characteristics….. terrific. You think a young man acting like a gentleman, wanting to protect his girlfriend (from vampires in this book), and caring deeply about her is “dreck”? Maybe, you should visit some doctor’s offices where the kids all sleep around and everyone has herpes…. What is so wrong about being loyal to someone you love? What is so wrong about waiting and making sure that this is the right person before you jump in the sack with them? Being a feminist, is about having choices. Not preaching one way.
Yes, exactly, I hat to break it but if the book ended diffrent where they just got married and became a vampire it would of been very boring.
Not to mention, the recation from both ends if Bella was force to have an abortion becase Edward made her? She chose to have the baby, it’s her choice.
In response to another comment. See in context »My teenage nieces are wild about the “Twilight” books. I was going to wait to read them until my little girl is old enough, but my book group chose “Twilight” for a fluffy summer read, and so I lost my “Twilight” virginity. All I can say is that Stephanie Meyer makes J.K. Rowling look like Shakespeare.
“Twilight” is all trembling hearts and cold shivers (or cold showers, perhaps, given all that sexual frustration.) Plot? Nil. I’m with Laurie. It’s drek. And the fact that eight-year-olds read these things makes my all-too-human blood curdle.
To Ms. Patti Hartigan,
The reading level on the book is YOUNG ADULT.
Shame on any parents that would let an eight year old (3rd grader) read a book that is recommended for 9th grade and above.
This is the problem with parents today, pointing their finger at everyone, but themselves. Shouldn’t parents of 8 year old children know what they are reading or looking at on the internet? Do parents burden any responsibilities for their children’s actions? . It is up to parents to decide what is appropriate for their children, not what society says is ok.
I made it through the first half of the first book, but once I saw the world “Adonis” for the tenth time I threw in the towel.
I try to not read books aimed at kids my age, and amazingly, it works pretty well. Friends have told me to check out this or that, and if I is on the “teen” shelf, I give it a quick, then usually run to find the most “boring” book possible. This actually happens a lot, because I love to read, and fortunately for me, my method works. I miss a lot of drivel.
I actually read this book after my daughter did. It was written to entertain people not to change their lives. I seriously doubt that anyone is going to model their lives after this book, that is unless gorgeous vampires start registering for high school. As for Romance Ideology being ridiculous, I’m sorry but I can’t agree with you there. Romance novels make up around 40% of all book sales. Millions of women around the world read these type of books and even some men. Why? Because the human heart wants romance! It’s not forced on us. We actually seek it out. It’s a basic need for women as well as men. Don’t fight it. I could give you titles of some of the greatest romances ever written. Read these and then get back to me about how ridiculous romance ideology is. Yes, you can have love without romance but
relationships are hard by nature so remembering to inject some romance from time to time sure doesn’t hurt. I’ve been with my man for 20 years and I still savor every romantic thing he does for me and I always make sure I remember to do romantic things for him. I’ve seen many of my friends and family suffer from divorce after divorce. These were all people who were actually in love once but thought love just takes care of itself. It doesn’t. You should never forget about romance. Once you do the relationship loses something important. Can you live your life without romance? Sure, but it’s not as much fun without it.
Look, the notion that sex is best conducted within the boundaries of a stable, long-term monogamous relationship isn’t some Loony Tunes Christian fundamentalist bull. It’s plain common sense.
The dismal consequences of promiscuous, anonymous sex are the sad legacy of the Boomers. There’s no such thing as “free love.” It has its costs — witness one among many, the HIV/AIDS plague — for which individuals and society pay dearly.
In reference to teen pregnancy, you put scare quotes around “problem,” suggesting . . . what, exactly? That the epidemic of high school moms and their often-delinquent dads isn’t a major and very troubling issue? That seems a fantastically irresponsible position to take. I assume — I hope — I’m misreading you there, Laurie.
All that said, these books are absolutely God awful. If there’s some theorizing to do, it’s about the bizarre fixation of today’s youth on wizards, vampires, etc.
I didn’t even try to read this senseless drivel. Not that it wasn’t offered to me numerous times by numerous family members. I thought I was safe until I had to watch the Twilight movie. Yes I had to watch it. I was waiting to see if I won a contest that the results were going to be announced after the movie. So i was a prisoner, and no I did not win. I try and I try but I can’t see the appeal of this series. Its possible that this is due to my giving up young adult books by age 13 and had moved on to adult books. I prefer my characters to have a brain and not to shove religious morality down my throat. I can get that in Church.
Don’t hate me becasue I like the books (yes LIKE, not love, not obsessed, but like) but some it is from a certin point of view.
First off, very few people get sex ed from a book, expecally one with fictional charcters and you can’t judge someone on account of their relgious belifs in their writing.
Second of all Edwards belif on sex has nothing to do with her Morman backround, but fits perfectly in with the belifs of the time range she wants that charcter to be from. The early 1900s where very far back.
Yes, she could of given some information about Birth Control, but considering abortion is a woman’s choice and Bella chosing to have the baby was showing her choice. Try to imagine if they forced her to have an abortion would create from Twilight critcs and how worse off the novel itself would seem or how boring of a novel them just getting married and her becoming a vampire would be even worse. So I personally couldn’t see it ending any other way.