Box office champ The Twilight Saga: New Moon is feeling the heat from a feminist professor, who accuses the fantasy epic of objectifying women and reinforcing gender stereotypes.

Carmen Siering, assistant professor of English and women’s studies at Ball State University, alleges that the second installment of the vampire series portrays Bella, played by Kristen Stewart, as a meek and mild young woman who remains emotionally-dependent on the “overbearing” Edward even after he kicks her to the curb; fueling the gender stereotype of women’s dependence on men.

“With just a moment of critical analysis, feminists can’t be too happy about how the latest episode in the Twilight series, adapted from Stephenie Meyer’s popular books, represents a young woman and her place in the modern world,” Siering wrote in an essay featured in the Winter edition of Ms Magazine.
“In fact, just moments after Edward leaves her, Bella stumbles in the woods and refuses to get up, lying in the muck until a strong, bare-chested man carries her out,” Siering added. “Later, we see her sitting in her room, staring out the window, as the months roll by. When she isn’t sitting and staring, she is in bed having nightmares. Very empowering,” the professor continued.

“What finally rouses her is a vision of Edward-which she sees after she hops on a motorcycle with a creepy guy. Even this ghostly Edward is bossy, scolding Bella to be careful, but it seems Bella likes, or needs, to be bossed around.”

Siering concluded: “This is a film full of gender stereotypes-testosterone-driven male aggression, females who pine away over lost loves, boys who fix motorcycles and the girls who watch them. There’s something scary about New Moon, but it’s in the human encounters, not those with the monsters.”

To Read Siering’s Full Critique Of The Sexist Sub-Plots In New Moon, Visit MsMagazine.com…..