Why is Twilight So Popular with Girls?

Apr 9, 2010 Melissa Hodges

Twilight - Cavin

The Twilight series has been popular with women of all ages since its inception. However, guys wonder why.

Girls everywhere have heard this question before, "What’s so great about vampires?” The question is usually asked by a guy and accompanied by a roll of the eyes or an impatient sigh. Well guys, here are a few reasons why girls are so obsessed with the Twilight series written by Stephanie Meyer.

Bella and Edward - The Average Girl Gets the Hot Guy

Bella Swan, the main character, (played by Kristen Stewart) drives an ugly truck and doesn’t dress with any style. She loves to read and is an introvert, not a cheerleader. Her friends are few and her home life is less than stellar. However, it is she who Edward Cullen (played by Robert Pattinson) is attracted to.

If Edward loves Bella just as she is, than the average girls can feel satisfied with being just who she is. Few girls consider themselves the popular girl, the prom queen or the life of every party. Therefore, they can relate to Bella’s plainness. The hottest, most mysterious guy in school can appreciate the unspectacular normal girl, and that is a welcome relief from the pressure to be popular and perfect.

Read more at Suite101: Why is Twilight So Popular with Girls? http://www.suite101.com/content/why-is-twilight-so-popular-with-girls-a223536#ixzz172u0zDdr

wilight is a Love Story

Edward loves Bella to the exclusion of all else. He protects her, worries about her and takes care of her. He is devoted to her and considers her needs far above his own. In Twilight, Edward tells Bella, "You are my life.” In New Moon (the second book in the series) he says, "You will always be the most beautiful thing in my world.” And in Eclipse (the third book) Edward declares, "You are my first priority.”

The fact that Edward is sincere in what he says to Bella makes the Twilight series especially gratifying to readers. These books are not merely fantasies, but love stories. Girls are swept off their feet by Edward’s maturity and thoughtfulness. They appreciate his compassionate nature and loving concern for Bella.

Read more at Suite101: Why is Twilight So Popular with Girls? http://www.suite101.com/content/why-is-twilight-so-popular-with-girls-a223536#ixzz172uIJE23

Bella is a True Friend

Although many people in the community of Forks, Washington find Edward scary and dangerous, Bella only sees the good in him. She sticks by him even after learning the secret he harbors; Edward is a vampire. In the same way, she is also fiercely loyal to Jacob (her best friend). Upon discovering that Jacob is a werewolf, Bella is unphased. She asserts that their friendship will prevail.

Bella is the type of friend that girls want. She is accepting and trustworthy. Her values are not skewed by society. She remains faithful, reliable and devoted to her friends.

Edward is a Gentleman

Edward is Bella’s knight in shining armor. He treats Bella with respect in all situations. He refuses to have sex outside of marriage because he wants everything to be perfect when it comes to her. He drives when they go out, takes care of her every need and is polite and courteous to her father. He even holds her and sings to her.

Edward is so popular because girls love the way he treats Bella. Girls want to be treated like a lady, they want the guy to take charge, make plans for dates and be respectful. So what makes Edward so appealing? He isn’t pushy or boorish, but classy and sophisticated. He is smart and well read, mannered and considerate. Edward truly loves Bella and wants whatever is best for her.

The Twilight Mystery is Solved

Alright guys, now the mystery is solved. It is clear why girls adore the Twilight books. Like "chic flicks,” these books are going to be around for a while. They appeal to women of all ages and don’t seem to be waning in popularity anytime soon. Instead of being annoyed, win some points by accompanying that special girl to see Eclipse.

Read more at Suite101: Why is Twilight So Popular with Girls? http://www.suite101.com/content/why-is-twilight-so-popular-with-girls-a223536#ixzz172uNhIdA

The Twilight Books have become a bestseller especially for teenagers in most stores. Anyone can read the series as they are a wonderful, popular series where romance and more is discovered. I personally love the books, because it is a nice series.


Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_twilight_so_popular#ixzz172y6CTrN

Four Reasons Why The Twilight Saga is So Accessible
by Larson Hill

Why has the Stephenie Meyer based Twilight Saga become such a global phenomenon? Why have so many female fans flocked to the town of Forks in the Twilight setting? Based on the volume of Twilight related articles hitting the internet and the levels of online Twilight and New Moon discussion, it's obvious the Twilight franchise is the most popular big screen adaptation series out there.

But underneath the popularity there are reasons why so many female fans are so easily connecting to not only the Twilight Saga novels but also the Twilight and New Moon movies and the visual representations of the Twilight characters now embodied by actors Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Nikki Reed, Peter Facinelli and more.

Why is the Twilight Saga so accessible for a wide range of fans that spans so many age groups? Here's a look at four reasons we see as to why the Twilight Saga is highly accessible for so many young girls and females of all ages.

An Ordinary Character for an Ordinary Girl

One of the main reasons why the Twilight Saga is so accessible is that the Stephenie Meyer based franchise gives women of all ages a universal character in Bella Swan (now Kristen Stewart) that mirrors the experiences, emotions, and the many complex feelings within relationships, and themselves, most have lived through, or are about to experience. The entry point into Twilight for many is an ordinary and awkward girl, unhappy with her life that encounters the handsome and mysterious stranger (now Robert Pattinson) who only has unlikely romantic eyes for her. What's not to love about that?

A huge factor as to why so many women of all ages have come together in Twilight unity is that the Twilight Saga appeals directly to females on an internal, emotional level. People tend to forget, especially those just coming of age, is that mothers, aunts, and grandmothers were young girls at one point, the same as them, with the same internal emotional and romantic clock as the young Twilighters of today. And the truth be told, the older you get those same young girl feelings and emotions don't go away.

Whether it's the Twilight mom who did marry her handsome and mysterious Edward years ago but now lives with a much older, heavier, and hairless middle-age Edward, or the young ugly-duckling Twilight fan who thinks meeting an Edward Cullen type is only a dream, the Twilight Saga is romantically tangible in the imagination from a real world perspective. Twilight is a vehicle for its female fans to both inhabit Bella and experience the same life with her for the first time, or for older Twilight moms to return to the Bella they once knew within themselves, or the Bella that has never left them at all. And for some older, more mature female Twilight fans, the ugly duckling syndrome has never gone away. In fact, it’s in all of us somewhere.

How many people out there have sat in a classroom, feeling like the ugly duckling, only dreaming that the most handsome guy of the school would notice them? For guys it's the same way, just on the flip side. And in some cases, the most handsome guy of the school is sitting there wishing the "ordinary girl" would find his scent irresistible. But since so many girls look at Edward Cullen with lustful eyes, Edward also becomes a hero figure that guys will to strive to be like. It's a romantically vicious cycle for both sexes.

Come on, girls, you know I'm on to something here.

The Harlequin Factor and Ultimate Romance Novel

Older Twilight fans will relate to this the most, but there's a reason why you have either laid eyes on or have read at least one Harlequin Romance novel in your lifetime. I remember taking bags upon bags of them out of my sister's house one time when she moved and have also spotted thousands at used bookstores or have laid eyes or stumbled upon thousands over the years. From 1980 to 2002, the romance novel went from a $300 million dollar industry to booming a $1 billion dollar industry in two decades. The simple fact is in relation to Twilight and the Twilight Saga is that commercial romance novels have always been extremely popular, dating back to the 1950s and much, much earlier. Beyond all of the hype surrounding the first Twilight movie, its upcoming sequel New Moon, and third film adaptation with Eclipse, the Twilight Saga books are simply romance novels, nothing more and nothing less, which have already proven to be some of the most highly accessible novels on the market.

However, when you step back from Twilight to take an objective view, the Twilight Saga incorporates elements of almost every popular subgenre of romance novel ever written into one series. As far as romantic subgenres, the Twilight Saga features elements and layers of historical romance, fantasy, romantic suspense, paranormal, contemporary, multicultural, and inspirational. Interestingly, given the strong undercurrents of abstinence in Twilight, erotic romance takes on a different, much less explicit form but is still present, even if in the erotic tension of the reader’s mind. When you look back at the popularity of the romance novel over the decades, each individual, stand-alone subgenre has been enormously successful. Since the Twilight Saga features elements of all popular romance novel subgenres, is it any wonder why Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn are so accessible?

There is no new and mysterious secret as to why the Twilight Saga is so accessible. The Twilight Saga did not create a new romantic genre, as I've heard and seen some people claim, and it shouldn't viewed as such simply because people relate to either the saga or the relationship between Edward and Bella. That's something completely different. Yet the Twilight Saga is this generation's romance novel. Although the front covers of the Twilight novels don't feature a shirtless and tanned, muscle-bound Edward Cullen, with long dark hair blowing in the wind, standing in the setting sun over Bella Swan who's dressed in an elegant nightgown, there's no need. But the Twilight Saga fires on the same romantic levels of that very image and strikes the same emotional cords as such romance novels as "Forbidden," "Last Minute Proposal," "Cinderella's Wedding Wish," and thousands upon thousands more.

Novels for the Online, E-mail, Text and Twittering Era

One of the heated debates over the Twilight Saga has been the divide between readers making the argument that the Twilight Saga is not as well written as novels penned by such authors as Jane Austen, Nora Roberts, and other more creatively astute and literary sound writers, even authors such as J.K. Rowling. As well, since the Twilight Saga has become such a phenomenon, the works of Stephenie Meyer have come under scrutiny and stacked next to the writings of Charles Dickens and Shakespeare to obvious negative results. Many feel the Twilight novels are poorly written and feel they simply can't buy into such a popular literary phenomenon that, as some have said, promotes bad writing for generations to come and excuses all of the conventions of classic literature.

However, it's not hard to see why bad writing in general is being excused and has become organically acceptable. But since the specifically targeted young Twilight generation is largely the first to solely come of age in an era of text messaging, e-mail, message forums, and other mediums of literary communication on networks like Twitter, the demand for literary excellence isn't what it used to be only a decade ago. Are your e-mails well written and grammatically correct? Do text messages make complete literary sense? Is there a demand for literary excellence on the web among the masses? The truth is, writing casual e-mails, text messages, and Twittering the day away is easy and doesn't require people to hold themselves to a higher standard.

However, writing as a craft and a career is hard, and doing it well is even harder. It's a numbers game. When the easy becomes a way of life, the hard gets pushed to the side. For almost the entire 20th Century, it was the opposite since good writing was a way of life, and had to be since "pen to paper" carried more weight, from banking, to letters, to proposals, to outlines, to work documents, schools, and more. Nowadays major corporations are using bad writing or bastardized English as selling tools because that's what the majority of the public is demanding and practicing for a variety of reasons.

Also, the Twilight Saga is highly accessible simply due to the fact that there's a direct connection between the writing and the evolution of writing within its targeted demographic of young readers. At the same time, what is acceptable and accessible for some may not be for others. Obviously for those stacking Twilight up to the more classically creative and literary sound authors, the Twilight Saga isn't accessible for them while it is for the more loose, open, and less critical reader in today's free-flowing online literary world.

It's obvious Stephenie Meyer has written an effective series of novels that are highly accessible for a huge worldwide audience. Did she have to be Shakespeare to achieve that? Obviously not, and that’s not passing any judgment one way or another on her as a writer either.

A Search for Mr. Perfect - You Want What You Can't Have

Is there a Mr. Perfect out there? Unfortunately not, but you can find Mr. Right. No one is perfect and we all know that. For generations women and men have fantasized about meeting the perfect partner who embodies everything we dream of in leading the perfect life, with a relationship that's filled with eternal love and happiness. For those infatuated with Twilight vampire Edward Cullen, who may be their idea of the perfect man, the Twilight Saga allows each and every fan to have their own personal "way" with a character that they'll never be able to touch in real life. And with many aspects of life, especially love, lust and romance, when you can't have something, you often want it all the more. But the reality is that Twilight fans will never meet Edward Cullen, the character, ever. Edward Cullen only exists in fiction and the imagination, as does Mr. Perfect.

In terms of accessibility across the entire Twilight Saga, the only way fans can be with Edward Cullen is through the Twilight novels. Cullen is the direct entry point into the perfect man. In fact, since many people are on an eternal search for Mr. Perfect, and some may never even find Mr. Right, Edward Cullen is only possible in the mind's eye when reading Twilight, New Moon, and the remainder of the Twilight Saga. He doesn’t exist anywhere else.

When fans can't have Edward Cullen and a romantic life similar to the Twilight universe, it's not a shock to see how Twilighters want him even more. It's a similar dynamic as the time tested romance novel format that sees two characters fall in love before they're kept apart and forbidden to see each other forever.

Is it any wonder why the Twilight Saga is so popular given its highly accessible qualities?

-- Larson Hill