Why teenage boys suck more than vampires

I was surfing the net, looking at sites about books, when I saw someone post the link to this article in a review she wrote. She found it incredibly sexist, shallow and just plain daft and, frankly, so did I.

That first line where it says 'Dumb, vain and confused' should've been words used to describe the article writer herself. I mean, c'mon, not all guys are like that. In fact, very few of the ones I've met fall into anything anywhere near those categories but I'm not saying guys are perfect either. No one is but, seriously, you're going to compare real life boys to fictional vampire ones? You're joking, right? Nobody acts like that! Get your head out of the clouds and start thinking realisticly. (Edward isn't even that great. That is, unless you're into creepy stalkers, then's he's Mr. Wonderful)

Now, the reason I'm asking the ladies if they find it sexist is because I found reviews from women that both praised the article and booed it. I was just curious as to whether the girls on here would agree whole heartidly with it or not.

Oh and I think I should also mention the article writer wrote a book.

Halo (Halo, #1) by Alexandra Adornetto - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

If you've never read it or even heard of it then I suggest you read some of the reviews it got...

This article gives positively no credit to the average American teenage girl. I mean, I know plenty of girls who have read the Twilight books and found that they have very realistic ideas of what a relationship should be. There are, of course, outliers: girls who see themselves as Bella and that no man can match Edward Cullen, but after talking with some of those individuals I think that I can vouch that they have their own personal image issues that should require an intermediary.

Personally, when I read the books, I found Edward to be quite the opposite of what I would want in a man (were I the type to... seek men.) I found him to be condescending ("Bella, you're human. You can't possibly understand"), controlling (not allowing her to see her friends... and for that matter, makes him also a jealous lover), and emotionally abusive (between the talking down to her, the control issues, and leaving her in the second book because of a paper cut). So if teenage boys can't possibly live up to that standard, then I think that's an overall good thing.

Secondly, saying that "teenage boys fall into three types" is just plain ignorant. If there's three types of boys, then why don't we go with three types of girls: "bitchy, bratty, and benign." (Since we're so fond of alliteration here.)

Getting back onto the subject of Edward Cullen; according to Stephenie Meyer, Edward was meant to be a blank slate upon which the reader could project her boyfriend/fantasy lover. In my opinion, it wasn't the most successful execution. So, no. No man can ever live up to a teenage girl's fantasy boy. Why? Because its fantasy. And teenage girls are every bit as capable of being dumb as teenage boys.

Now, if we were going to take the opposite route and infer from teenage boys what they wanted in a woman, they would have a skewed idea too. When I was in high school, the big deal was Tomb Raider. So ask a boy what they wanted in a girlfriend before they've had a chance to actually be in a relationship? You'd probably get a lengthy description of Lara Croft. But no one thinks about it like that. They think "boys will be boys," and I find the double standard to be a little silly. But once they get out of that mindset and have their first relationship, usually that list widens and narrows as their experiences vary. And I would hope that girls have the same chance at redemption, but according to this article... no such luck.

Speaking of girls, lets talk about Bella Swan for a moment. Here we have a teenage girl who does very little but whine. Okay, so already the target audience can relate to her. That would be fine if there was much growth in that area, but it only increases as the story pushes forward. Having talked to fans of the stories, there's a common theme of disliking the narrator beginning around the second or third book. So already there's a disconnect between the reader and the narrator. And since Bella's only interest is Edward, the interest in Edward is less potent from the reader standpoint. A large number of fans actually read the books for Jacob, whose only purpose, it seemed, was to provide conflict and was yet one of the most developed characters. This is where I think the author of the article was mistaken: the target audience was much more interested in seeing what happened with the Wolves and the Cullen family than the canon romance.

Like I said: there are outliers who read the books for Edward and (I kid you not: I had this discussion with someone) "hope that one day my perfect Edward will come and save me from this hell of a life." But a common theme with those girls was that they were previously institutionalized for self-destructive behavior, which is also a common theme in the Twilight series. I get the sense that, perhaps, the author of the article was in a similar situation.

Also, I read the synopsis of her book and decided straight away that I do not want to read it. "... a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio." So she falls in love with a mortal because she hasn't been dead long enough? I feel like the word "teenage" was put there ill advised. And after reading the reviews, I have to say that a LOT of the same things could be said for the Twilight Series: slow pacing, clichéd story, religious bias, pretty cover.

So, basically she's Stephanie Meyer's protégé?

Only she pulls off the Useless Mary-Sue even better than Bella.
What an accomplishment....not!

She sounds terribly ignorant and useless herself. She's probably unmarried and waiting for her white knight to come save her. (Yes, I'm passing a quick judgement at her, but most writers like to write things they themselves would like to read, you know? And I can imagine all the twilight moms and lonely unmarried women drooling over that book).
It's kindof sad that she's a woman, and yet she's perpetuating the idea that we need saving...Saving from what, exactly? Reality? No thanks. I don't need the perfect man, I'm happy with my man filled with flaws. If he was perfect, I would be so insecure!

I'd also like to say that it's disturbing for a grown woman to be insisting that there are only 3 types of guy. While there are guys like that, they aren't the only type, and they usually aren't that extreme.

The book plot had some potential though..until I realized motherfucking ANGELS had jobs at a high school, and there's an "inexperienced TEENAGER," that fact that that was mentioned in the review reflects poorly on herself and her publisher. It just sounds poorly written, and poorly thought out.

I mean why would the uhh..I think he was called "Our Father" send an inexperienced TEENAGE FREAKIN' GIRL? Flawed, flawed flawed flawed.

...That all sounded very book reviewy.
Either way, it sounds like the same sort of issues (though perhaps Xavier is less abusive than Edward), teenage girl of little to no substance and "forbidden" romance. Brilliant story plot.

Sometimes I think people forget that teenagers like to read good books too.

Also, Hyena there is no way your post could have said it better. Seriously. :)

I was once an active troll on the Twilight boards on Gaia. I was "that intelligent guy" who instead of saying "Twilight Sucks" opted for "I have read this and think that it could use improvement, but why do you like it?" I got quite a bit of "you're mean for not liking it" and quite frequently misguided "you don't like it because you're a boy and its written for girls." But anyhow, it sort of became an anthropological study on the extreme fans and extreme anti-fans. Unofficial, but very interesting... until I got bored with it. There were politics in that group. Very curious.

But anyhow, that gave me a chance to study the various intricacies in the subgroups. But a surprising amount of girls who read the books and liked them said something along these lines:

"When I read them, I was deep in depression. I thought I was fat, ugly. I couldn't get a boyfriend. I was weak and had severe anxiety. So much that I had to be hospitalized. I tried to kill myself several times, and I wanted so badly to die. Then I read the books and it gave me hope for the future. Hope that one day my Edward would come and take me from this hell of a life." Paraphrased, of course, because there was a lot of text-speak in them and... I can't bring myself to do that, even in jest.

But I think that books like these, where it presents a hyperbole of what a man should be, attract a certain kind of person rather than raising the standard on men. To those special people, perhaps, it raises the bar. But the average American teenage girl reads more than just Twilight. They know that one person's fantasy, while possibly coinciding with their own, will not be the be-all and end-all of men. I remember when Tom Cruise was the hot thing, and people still didn't care for him. Brad Pitt? I didn't think he was particularly attractive until I saw him in "Fight Club," and that's only because he was playing alongside Edward Norton. (I'm... really into the crazy.) Hell, I remember when the guy to be with was Freddie Prince Jr. I always thought he looked kinda funny.

The point of all that name-dropping was, despite how much girls fawned over those guys, people still went about their business and developed their own preferences regardless. So no matter how much someone "raises the bar" on teenage romance, people will still have their preferences. The ones that saw hope in the Twilight Series will, doubtlessly, have another relapse and latch onto yet another obsession.

Probably the biggest sin of the author of the article is that she treats all women as one entity, rather than over half the world's population of individuals that it is.

That article was pretty amusing, but I hardly agree with it. Especially the part about there being three types of guys; that's just completely ridiculous. Every teenage boy is different. Yes, you get the ones that only speak through sexual innuendos. Yes, you have indie boys who are too preoccupied with their looks. But that doesn't even scratch the surface of the different types of guys out there; each guy has his own personality which makes him unique, so I find it pointless to put all guys in categories.

I think the author wrote that article because she must've had some bad experiences with men. o.o And now she's resorting to fictional characters to get her fix...

Well I do accually, find it sexist I mean. I accually I do know people who find the twilight series sexist too, but that's not the point and it's offtopic. I'm not the one to judge there, concidering I have neither read or seen Twilight at all.

Just one question, is it supposed to be sexy when a guy opens a door for a girl? I find that whole gentleman thing a bit... pejorative. Not the act itself but the agenda behind it.
But I don't know, I'm gay so maybe I don't have a say in that at all, I mean I usually don't find guys attractive at all XD

On that writer and article; I think that is one of those "trying to figure out why twilight is so popular analysis". Popular-cultural phenomas usually get analysed, A lot!


and ohh by the way, I find Hyena's first post really amusing and educational. ^_^

Not sexist... Just hilarious.

Man. And this woman is published? Gives me hope for my own works someday. Ugh.

Seriously, saying ANYTHING only goes into three types is ridiculous. And what the hell is that third category. Muddled? She couldn't come up with anything better? And seriously, why are those men so hard to read? What IS she trying to read from them? Mysteries.

Also, I find her comment that he had a "redeeming upturned nose and preppy hair cut" HILARIOUS! Really.

Honestly I think it's just plain stupid to compare a real living boy to a fictional VAMPIRE. That pretty much explains it.
She says that boys are slow to reach their maturity, which it is proven that girls mature faster, but she's the one who sounds immature here. She's stereotyping not one, but both sexes here. She says that all teenage girls only want a fictional boyfriend who happens to be a mythical creature and that they must be ice cold, have marble skin, run super fast, etc., etc. Frankly, I'd rather not have a boyfriend who lives off of blood, breaks into my house at night to watch me sleep, and doesn't let me stand up for myself. Plus, no boy will ever match any kind of fantasy lover, because a woman's fantasy lover/boyfriend is what she imagines as perfect, and no one is perfect.

Everyone has their own personal preferences in what they search for in a partner. Some like pale, some like tan. Some like buff and some like average. Some like high intelligence levels and others are fine with whatever. You can't just say that every single woman will like and wish for the same type of man, or that every man is nearly the exact same.

Onto the stereotyping boys; honestly I have met some pretty decent guys out there. Ones that compliment their girlfriends, hold doors open not just for their girlfriends but for others, and more. Everyone has their flaws, INCLUDING girls. Not every guy is the same, so you can't just make up random categories stating that every man will fall into one of them. Because they won't. That's like saying all foods fall into sweet, salty, or sour. There's bitter foods, like some German chocolates, there are plain foods which don't have much taste, there are tangy foods, fruity foods, etc.

I'm more disturbed by the fact she is referring herself as a teenager, unless she is one. Also disturbed that she feels that women are mature and ready for full-blown and committed relationships before the age of 20, because they are not. They are just as immature and inexperienced as their male counterparts and prone to overexaggeration and unrealistic expectations. I've often wondered about the mental state of those who try and compare a fictional character to a real flesh and blood human, because these people are setting themselves up for failure and to be that 95 year old crazy cat person down the street.

Edward and Jacob are both far far from what I would expect in a male counterpart, and for that matter, I'd probably commit myself if I was ever attracted to any of the female types in Twilight as well. And for these reasons is why I feel that the Twilight series is a horrible book to be given to teenagers. It's pointing out all the undesirable and negative sorts of emotions and relationships and glorifying them into being acceptable.

The author of this article quite obviously still has a lot of growing up to, and take advantage of that invitation to the real world. I can understand being in love with the 'concept' of Edward or Jacob, i.e. someone to always be there for you and protect you, and any decent man/woman will do that for those they care about. The fans need to open their eyes and see them. I too have read the testimonials from fans who say the books have brought them out of depression or gave them hope, but I also found that most of these 'depressions' are nothing more than overblown teenage angsting by spoiled teenagers trying to get attention and stand out. Also, that they turn out to be the most radical and closed-minded of fans.

On the ending note, I'd love to meet the author of this article and give her a good girly slap across the face. Seriously... who does she think died and made her the Empress of women's opinions?

There are a lot of teenage guys who are one of those 3 types, but there are also tons of decent teenage guys - she only knows those three types most likely because she attracts that type.

I really hope that was not written by a grown woman. I hope that it's a teenager that hasn't really been out into the real world yet. I say that because when most people are in high school, there's a whole different way most people see things than when they're out of high school and grow up. Twilight books are written to where they target the kind of girl that wants "Mr. Perfect" and/or the type that likes the idea of a "Prince Charming". It's the same thing Disney does with their movies. I am not saying that the story lines are the same, I am just saying that the "young maiden with a hard life" meeting her "prince charming" that "saves her" from whatever hardship that she has is a formula that hooks a certain group of people.

I think that the article is more ignorant than anything. It almost sounds like a joke to me but I really know nothing about the woman that wrote it.

Edit: I read some review on her book. All I can say is that I really hope no one takes it seriously. Then again people apparently eat stuff like that up since Twilight is so popular. It's really sad and that is why I avoid books of that nature.

I've heard of that book...my friend said it was pretty good, but it was too much like Twilight. And I agree with Mystic, books with "Mr. Right" Are aimed at a certain group of teenagers, and that's why those types of books are so popular nowadays.

What the author finds attractive about Edward Cullen's personality is not actually anything to do with Edward Cullen being a vampire. Most people in relationships value honesty, devotion, passsion, love ect, these traits have nothing to do with the supernatural.

This girl is an idiot. I read twilight and Edward is a complete jerk, he'd creepy and obsessive and I think the average teenage boy deserves more credit that the article gives him. I remember boys from high school and sure some of them where awkward but face it, they're teenagers! They're still young no one should expect them to be perfect gentleman. It's also sexist to assume that that's what most women want. I prefer something a bit more manly and less uptight than that Edward creep. I also don't think it's realistic to compare him to the average guy because the author made him her perfect fantasy man. There is nothing real or substantial about this character so comparing him to normal human teens is just ridiculous.

I would just like to say that I'm very impressed with all the responses to this thread. I know the actual point wasn't Twilight, but after spending so much time with girls my age who think Edward is the perfect partner, it's genuinely refreshing to see people who see what I see; a controlling, manipulative boyfriend, nothing but a bad influence on an already fragile, teen-aged girl.

I'm also glad to see that so many people realize that people (both male and female) can't really be categorized. It is definitely sexist to think that boys only fit into three main categories, and also sexist to think that any one character can "raise the bar" for all girls. I can guarantee that Edward Cullen didn't budge the bar even a millimeter for a large percentage of women.

I don't know about you guys, but where I live, the guys are exactly like that. Mainly the first one, Macho man.

All the decent boys are bullied into utter depression, and are too afraid to talk to girls because they have been forced to think that they are ugly/fat/stupid/worthless. Sadly, most teenage girls in my area are too shallow to look past the dick heads, and see the boys hiding in the shade. But it's ok, because these are the guys that grow up, go to uni, move away forever where they find a nice girl and get married and live happily ever after - or kill themselves.

It might seem sexist if you personally know a lot of nice guys, but people like me, who live in areas like I do, see it as truth.
I want a guy that doesn't tell me he loves me unless he means it, not just to get into my pants, or that will put me before anything else, or that I can sit and talk to for hours on end, even when we have nothing to talk about and we are just talking about random crap.
And because I looked past all the show offs, I found a guy like that, in the shade, too shy to even hold a sencence with me at first, but because I showed him that he is actually worth something and that I love him, he repays me everyday by being the perfect guy, not that he has to try that hard because it comes naturally to him.
Before I started talking to him, he was a self harmer and was starting to think about suicide - now, he's not self harmed in 2 years (besides a little slip now and then)

The Twilight series was completely, unbelievably stupid. ( or at least in my opinion.) Edward was too perfect. I just hate her affection She basically just quit living when he left her. Any normal person would have waded in that self pity for a while then got back up and find someone else. Bella was just to dependent on Edward. She didn't even like Jacob when he was being nice to her despite the fact that she cut everybody out of her life when she felt too bad to live on. Bella was just stupid, she should have chosen Jacob over Edward.

Personally this conflict interests me. Twilight, while annoying, was a phenomenon of our generation that was enough to sway me to read the books and see the movies. Personally I do not have a liking to the movies, nor do I find myself attracted to any of the actors who did the movies, however I cannot deny the books were captivating. An undying love that is so dedicated, it's what every girl secretly wants. However Twilight is very unrealistic, and both parties are ill represented when it comes to reality. As far as the article goes I find it actually somewhat accurate that teenage boys do not tend to live up to Edward Cullen, but that is only the fault of us girls who expect them to. Nobody is perfect, and there is more to life than being damsel in distress or being the hero.

Interestingly enough I think this article is a very clear example of a theory I've slowly been coming around to. Romance media is to girls as porn is to boys. Before knocking it off girls, think hard about it. Porn often gives boys unrealistic ideas of what girls should do, how they should look and what they should be like. Romance media gives girls unrealistic ideas of what boys should do, how they should look and what they should be like. While they don't physically serve the same purpose, mentally they condition us to expect something unrealistic from the other gender. Who made the rule that boys should be taller than their girls? Nobody, but culturally we expect boys to be tall and strong. A fault of mine is that I fall to this too, I would not be able to deal with a lover who was shorter than me and thankfully I don't have to.

My conclusion about this article in particular isn't so much that the comparison is wrong, because there is a huge gap between Edward and the average teenage boy, she goes the wrong way with it. Instead of indicating how unrealistic and fantastical Edward is, she chooses to focus on how horrible teenager boys are in comparison which is indeed unfair. While she doesn't say all boys are like that, generalizations like that tend to be wrong. The article in and of itself is not sexist because she's not indicating that girls are better than boys, she is indicating that Edward is better than boys. It's unfair but I don't believe sexist is the right term for it.