I’m a Twi-Mom. There. I said it.
I am proud of my geek-ness in general but every now and then the socially aware part of my brain attempts to apply the brakes. What self-respecting mom would willing admit that her heart goes all aflutter at sparkly vampires and teenage angst? This one, apparently. I own the t-shirt (and wear it in public), my keys are adorned with an Edward keychain, and I at one point very seriously considered a bumper stick that read “Real Men Sparkle”.
For quite some time I attempted to closet my near obsession with Stephanie Meyers’ Twilight series and the associated movies. I kept the books under my bed so my friends wouldn’t see. I forbade myself the joy of seeing the midnight premier of the first movie. I waited until my veiwing the film would be construed as a casual, a last minute decision. But why would a GeekMom be ashamed of her geek tendencies? I had no problem with donning a Minerva McGonagall costume and screaming “Avada Kedavra” in a movie theater packed with people. I regularly sport video game themed apparrel and am prone to laughing hysterically at computer-programming based jokes. But I hid my Twilight.
I wasn’t sure why until one day I stumbled upon a group of Twi-moms at my local coffee shop of choice. Turns out many of us younger moms, consciously or not, try to separate ourselves from things that teenagers should love. We’re moms after all. Never mind that in my case I was only four years departed from teenager-hood when I gave birth. It made me a mom and I desperately had to prove it. To someone. At least I that’s what I thought. But here were moms who love Twilight and were willing to be open about it and didn’t care who thought less of them for it. And is this not one of the defining characteristics of geekhood? I joined the conversation and from then on was no longer ashamed of my affection for a particular fictional character…namely Edward Cullen.
I’m a Twi-Mom on Team Edward. But why? Why would a grown woman who has known real love, real heartbreak, real angst, and real life like the admittedly surreal reality Meyer creates? The short answer is because it is so ideal. Edward represents everything that a woman should want (note I don’t say does want, SHOULD want). He isn’t trying to get in Bella’s pants. In fact he is resisting her desire to let him. He is perfectly gorgeous, ageless, strong, a natural protector (and predator, this in and of itself holds charm), endearingly jealous, willing to admit fault, willing to apologize, and likes to cuddle. He is the textbook definition of ideal. He is impossible, the vampire part aside even, but ideal, utopian even. I’d take him.
For some, all that perfection is so sickly sweet it is positively gag-inducing. For me, a freshly divorced, thus single, mom who hasn’t quite figured out how to date yet, it is a brilliant exercise of the heart. Yes, I’m perfectly aware it is fiction, but if you’ve ever broken off a long-term committed relationship, you know full well what I’m talking about.
I’m a Twi-mom, on Team Edward, and that’s final. I also have a good sense of humor. The Twi-Haters don’t bother me too often. I saw (and enjoyed) Vampires Suck. The anti-Twilight gear cracks me up. I do have one request. Feel free to hate the books, the characters, the movies, the author for creating them, but leave the fans out of it. You don’t have to understand why we obsess, just that we do and will continue to do so. You get defensive about your passions, we get defensive about ours. With Eclipse just out on DVD we will be holed up in our homes, staring at gorgeous men portraying underage objects of fantasy, and we promise not to bother you for at least two hours.
I’m so glad you posted this because I have been wanting to ask someone who is a Twi-Mom is it just about the guys? I can totally see that Edward (or Jacob) would be great guys IDEALLY, but is that the only draw? I’m a mom and a geek, I’ve read the books but I couldn’t get into them because I couldn’t get past Bella’s character. She was just too unlikable for me.
I love what you say about the fans though, who knows why we obess over anything?
Great article Jen! Love it! The older I get though the more Bella annoys me. 🙂
Yeah, Bella never was on my “I like her as a person” list. But I can see how teenagers in that awkward period of self exploration and discovery. Having already “found” myself the whining and self deprecation gets old even for me.
Twilight’s cute, but I always felt it was just one step above Harlequin Romances, and not quite good enough to be Anne-Rice-Lite. And I try not to make too much fun of Twi-moms, but sometimes y’all are easy targets!
But, I’ve gotta admit, I’m glad we read them. I was never so proud as when my daughter (then 16) said, “Wait. You mean she has to give up her life _entirely_ just to be with Edward?! Well, that’s just ridiculous.” I guess she WAS listening when I said not to change who you really are just for some guy. Even if he is a sparkly vampire 😉
There’s no problem with being “willing admit that her heart goes all aflutter at sparkly vampires and teenage angst.” My problem with the novels is that Bella loses herself in Edward in an unhealthy way. She completely sacrifices her life for him and not in a good way. Additionally i think they are poorly written. That being said, if you like it you like it and everyone else, myself included, can go jump in a lake.