by Hilary Lehman on alligator.org

‘Twilight’ has made the world a worse place.

I believe this not only because the vampire frenzy has somehow made Kristen Stewart an in-demand actress or because T-shirts that say ‘Bite Me’ are suddenly best-sellers.
Mostly, it’s because I have yet to find any value these books offer to the teen girls who make up most of the fan base.

On the one hand, I understand that a world where your vampire boyfriend can sense danger and help you avoid it probably works differently than the world in which we live.
Yet I talk to so many young women who tell me that they are waiting for their own personal Edward Cullen, or that they see themselves as Bella, and I don’t really understand.

“Can I just tell you something?” I said. “If you ever meet a guy who acts anything like Edward Cullen, he’s hiding something worse than being a vampire.” They stared at me like I was the crazy one.

It’s the revealing fantasy of the ordinary girl: Danger doesn’t matter. Being noticed by someone mysterious, someone unattainable, someone they can be with forever — that’s what young women want.

Granted, entertainment doesn’t always have to have a moral. But let’s stop treating ‘Twilight’ like it’s the next ‘Harry Potter’ or, even worse, ‘Wuthering Heights’.
‘Twilight’ isn’t literature. It’s a gimmick with a passable, exotic plot.

And ladies, seriously, you can do better than the undead.

To read more HERE

So, I can see where she is coming from – about the ‘teenage girls can’t protect themselves’ – but I don’t agree with her. I am too much in love with ‘Twilight’ and the Cullens to say anything neutral. I’d love to have my own Edward who protects me, because I love the imagination of being a fragile girl which needs a gorgeous boyfriend, who is mysterious, strong and (of course) immortal.
Do you agree with Hilarys arguments of ‘Twilight’ doesn’t tell us anything about ourselves?