holdingoutforjacob wrote:I, personally, think that Edward CAN come off a little feminine at times. But maybe we should attribute this to the fact that he is being written by a FEMALE.
This is a very interesting topic to me. Unfortunately, I missed the meat of the discussion. I haven’t had much time on here again lately. Most of you pegged my initial reaction to that article on the last Edward thread, but I've been considering this and I have a few things I want to point out.
As HOFJ said, Edward was created and written by a female. He is SM's interpretation of what a perfect man is. Apparently millions of women agree with that interpretation and also find Edward to be the man of their dreams. I never once even considered Edward (descriptions and actions alike) as feminine. However, I actually do see how someone could think that, to an extent...the beautiful/angel descriptions, the most quoted love lines, the moodiness, the self-sacrificing behavior for love, etc. Most of us eat all that up with our Edward, and we think he is more of a man for those qualities rather than less of one. I have to say that he is not like a middle-aged woman—ugh—but when considering a possible feminine aspect to Edward’s character, we should remove the negative stigma of “feminine” when applied to a male. Just because certain traits have less
masculinity does not mean they are
girly. In a more general sense of the word,
femininity simply implies a focus on emotion and relationships. Swedish culture is regarded as the most feminine, but who would say Sweden is a girly country merely because the people focus more on relationships than competitiveness? Hopefully no one. I want to point out and emphasis this distinction. Call me biased (which I am) or nitpicky for use of a proper term. Either way I’m offended by the thought of a girly Edward, whereas Edward having feminine traits…ok, I can take that. Actually, the more I think about it, I can agree with it.
Like others pointed out, society portrays men in a certain way that, ironically, does not really appeal to most women. Who wants to date a harda$$ with little consideration about your feelings? Or a man who has eyes for other women and tends to act selfishly because that's just "how guys are." I know I'm pulling from the worst male stereotypes, but let's be honest here. A lot of them are like that. Guys are programmed to be rough and tough and non-emotional; just because men in the 2000s are told to be that way does not mean Edward Cullen is any less of a man due to his respectful, gentlemanly behavior
of the early 1900s. Also, the authors of that article disregarded the most important reason for Edward's “beautiful” words, actions, and thoughts. That would be Bella. The fact that he fell in love and it changed him forever. Not to mention he’s a vampire who feels much more intensely than we can even comprehend. His capacity to love far exceeds the depth of feelings that a typical human has for another. None of that changes who he is as a person though. Edward carries old-fashioned morals, ways of thinking, and articulation. We all know what his personal characteristics are, and some of them DO fall under what is universally considered as “feminine,” such as my example with feminine/masculine cultures.
Maybe some of us don’t realize that we’re attracted to feminine qualities, or we simply don’t look at it that way. Do emotional traits make a man less masculine? That’s up for individual interpretation. But how many times do us women beg our men to open up? To communicate with us? To show that they care? I daresay that every woman has felt this frustration at one time or another. Do we essentially want our men to have some feminine traits? Considering the basic connotation of the word, I think the answer is yes. (Disclaimer: of course this isn’t the case for all women. I'm speaking generally.) And what's so bad about that?
If Edward’s traits and beautiful words and selfless actions add up to some degree of femininity, then by all means… in the words of Jazz Girl, he is the woman of my dreams.
Hm. I hope no one finds this controversial.
Edit---
akire wrote:So, I guess I want to ask... is it really so bad if Edward DOES have some "feminine" characteristics? Does that make him less... I don't know... Edwardly?
THANK YOU akire!! You read my mind exactly. Our posts go hand in hand.