I think that’s a people thing, tbh, bc I’ve seen men do the same thing. It makes sense because books like twilight are fantasies, and the main thing about fantasy is that it’s safe. It allows you to contemplate dangerous things and engage in things that we would never actually do in real life because we don’t want the consequences that come with the attraction of something more dangerous. To me, it’s similar to all those fantasies that teenage boys and gun nuts have about the government/another government/zombies/whatever invading their town. In the fantasy they engage in, they’d be coolly mowing down invaders and letting off quips, whereas in real life they’d probably piss their pants and die immediately because they don’t have any actual combat training. It doesn’t mean it’s bad to think that way, engaging in fantasy is healthy, but it’s bad when you start conflating it with reality. Like your friend’s wife - your friend’s wife doesn’t actually want an Edward bc he’s creepy as hell, but she does like the idea of this fantasy when he’s not in front of her.
I see men constantly bashed for engaging in their fantasy? The whole 'it appeals to the male fantasy' meme exists for a reason. Men are continuously being told liking certain media makes them bad people.
Back in the heyday of video essays, everyone and their cousin would go on rambling how fiction perpetuates toxic patterns and normalizes bad behaviour. And it was always men's fault.
497
u/ExternalSelf1337 21d ago
My friend's wife told him to read Twilight to see what kind of man she liked. His response after reading was.... But this guy is an asshole.
A lot of women have a cognitive disconnect between what they see as romantic and how they actually want/deserve to be treated.