Woman's Perspective : Twilight

This post is in honor of the final DVD of the Twilight Saga being released  this past Saturday! :)

Let me make this LOUD AND CLEAR before we start:

I'm not here to tell you why the Twilight Saga books and movies are the best out there (because they are not.) I'm not here to tell you you're stupid if you don't like Twilight. I'm not here to tell you why Rob Pattinson is sexy and TEAM EDWARD is the only way to be (haha, glad I got that out.) I also understand that this post is not every woman's perspective.

I'm here to try to explain why woman have such an infatuation with Twilight. I'd like you to also know, that when discussing this, I'm mostly relating it to the books (as we all know, even Twi-hards, the movies, although have progressively gotten better, and not award-worthy)

Alternate Reality

Our obsession with Twilight is just like any other obsession with a book. When reading a book a woman escapes into another world. We get attached to the characters and we call them our friends. We pick a character who we relate to the most, and that becomes the eyes we look through as were walking through this alternate reality. You've had a bad day? You pick up the book and you escape.

Romance

For most women, there is a yearning to find that love that we just can't live without. Twilight satisfies that fantasy. You take out all the supernatural make-believe creatures, and you have a first-love, young-adult romance novel. We lived through Bella during her awkward moments, to feeling butterflies when she first starts hanging around Edward. The time they first kissed? Ya, you felt that tingling too. When Edward left? You cried, you felt her pain, because as a girl, you've probably felt that pain before too, even if it lasted only a day. You went through her awkward friend phase with Jacob, and in real life you have 'your Jacob'. Edward comes back, they realize they can't live with out each other. They get married, they start a family, they live happily ever after. I don't care what anyone says, there is a small part in all women that craves that.

Drama

Of course, if the story was that easy we wouldn't want it. There has to be drama. I mean, come on, we're women. That's where the whole mythical creature things take the love story to a whole new level. It creates unbelievable twists and turns, but it keeps us reading.

The Idea of the 'Perfect Man'

Books are great because they let us create our own visuals. So of course it helps when all the male characters are extremely good-looking..and perfect. In the books, these characters are perfect because we don't ever have to see any of their flaws. Maybe Jacob has really bad morning breathe..but we don't have to wake up to that. I can't explain to you why some people have the hots for vampires (me!) and other werewolves. The idea of a rock-hard man who has everlasting energy, whose every characteristic was built to draw you in, and deep down inside he desperately just wants to bite you neck...there is just something HOT about that. It's the relationship that isn't supposed to be work, the forbidden, you always want what you can't have. That is the thing that drags woman into these leading characters. Of course, when they made the movies it became even more realistic for us, because they pretty accurately casted actors who fit our visions in our heads. They are perfect right? But we also don't have to deal with Rob Pattinson who didn't wash his hair for like...two weeks. It's just the idea of the perfect, we can't have it except in books, man
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I read, and re-read, and re-watch the Twilight Saga because its satisfies that  fantasy of mine that I can't quite put a finger on (yet I tried to describe it above.) It brings back that feeling of firsts; the first kiss, the first time with someone (ugh, If only we all had Edward breaking our head board...). It gives us our yearning for 'can't live without you love'. It gives adventure and drama, but without the boyish guns and knives. Just vampires and werewolves. I read Twilight because I'm in the mood for love and lust. I read other books if I'm looking for something else. Simple as that.

It's the same with all books. They are meant for escaping the real world. Twilight just happens to have love, drama, and hot men. What more could a woman want?