Why There's No Vampire Sex in Twilight
Gawker wants Bella and Edward in the Twilight series to screw, already, dammit!
But I also think we can't forget the Twilight books are young adult (YA) books. Young adults. Obviously not all young adults are sexually active, but what might be harder to wrap our heads around is the notion that not all young adults care to think about sexual activity at all times. If you've never kissed a boy before -- and certainly if you've never given a handjob or a blowjob -- it may seem frightening and overwhelming. It may seem like something you can picture yourself doing a year or two or five from now, but it's not a part of your life today.
And I think that kind of chastity, the kind that's not indoctrinated, is OK.
I think the commenter, ClicheLaMoron, on Carnavale's post was dead on (no pun intended). Even though she's much more cynical and doesn't think this is "healthy," I still think her point is right:
Ask a former teenage girl:
The book is TOTAL porn. But, not the scary kind with dicks. The kind that's PERFECT for teenage girls, which is all about getting off on the pain of loving someone so hard and not being able to have him. Which is a sexual feeling, even though that makes no sense to dudes. But in reality, you cannot have your idol because you are hideous and unpopular, not because HE LOVES YOU TOO MUCH TO EVER ENDANGER YOU WITH HIS LOOOOOOOVE, but the good/bad feeling is much the same.
I don't think this is healthy at all. But if you are raised to fear men as rapey, etc and be ashamed of your sexual feelings as making you dirty and worthless, you end up liking this book. Yaaaaaaay.
What's more, I thought the never-consummated sexual tension in Twilight was really hot. Maybe because it lets my imagination run wild? Maybe it's because I'm a tease and I'm attracted to teases who are my match? Maybe it's because I've confessed my love for chivalrous vampires? Who knows...I just wouldn't change the book at all. Are we so sexed up in our pop culture that we're taking to teenagers not having sex like a vampire takes to garlic?
Tell us in the comments section below....would the Twilight series be hotter with a long-hoped for consummatino of vampire sex? Or are these books hotter without it?
Discussion
Good God, ya'll are preachy. You can't have one book where the characters just don't have sex?
1. A lot of the girls who love Twilight are pre-teens. They are not ready for books with explicit sex. What's more, they probably wouldn't be allowed to read it if it had explicit sex.
2. Sometimes, not having sex is hotter than having it.
3. Do you really think that if kids read a book where the couple loves each other enough to wait before having sex, then they will think sex is bad?
4. "Wait until you are ready" is the ultimate in sex-positive messages for all of us.
5. There are plenty of vampire books full of explicit sex in my local bookstore. They aren't blockbusters with YA or tweens. Maybe they're choosing what they're ready for. Life is long, they have plenty of time to be sexually active.
6. I think there are a lot of stereotypes about religious conservatives and sex. Believe it or not, many of them say that they love sex and have fulfilling sex lives.
I went to New Moon last night (sneak preview, free passes, burning curiosity) and two things are certain:
1) It's porn without being actual porn the way oral sex is not technically sex.
2) There isn't a single healthy romantic relationship in the mix. It's a celebration of codependency. Bring your party hats!
Bella has low self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness, all of her energy and time is invested in one man or another (no strong female role models to speak of, either) all the characters talk about is how intensely they care about each other and both Edward and Jacob are super possessive and controlling. She is lost without one of them. This book is incredibly destructive to the self-esteem and expectations of young women.
Preaching abstinence? I don't think so. That book may never stray into the realm of graphic sex (even in the last book) but it expresses its sexuality in many other different ways. Age or not, I think Meyer likes playing around with the forbidden love aspect, for all, which is why she holds off for so long.
While Edward's body has been described as marble-like, remember he is dead and therefore cold to the touch (at least from a mortal). I understand that sex with any vamp is so vigorous that it is violent and mortals will not survive the tryst. If that is the case I guess sex with a vamp would serve another purpose . . . dinner.
The sexual tension without actual sex is hot, I agree. And, there are enough liberal, anti-religious-conservative agendas swirling around in entertainment and media (hello, third season of Weeds), I'm all for a pro-conservative stance to keep us all fair and balanced.
