The author portrays her male characters as strong, powerful, sexy, in-charge guys and her female characters (other then the vampires) weak, insecure, dependent on the guys, and the stereotypical “damsels in distress.” However, Meyer claims Bella is a feminist, defining feminism as simply a woman who has the right to make her own choices. This may be true, but Meyer’s characters are a strange “combination of modern sensibility and ambience with traditional ideas about gender” (Sax). Bella's ideas about gender roles are decidedly un-feminist. Bella may make (some of) her own choices, such as sacrificing herself to save her mother (in the first book) and falling in love with a Vampire, choosing to give up everything for him. However, she is totally dependant on Edward. He is her crutch and she needs him (a man) in her life to complete her. There is a huge lack of equality between them. She represents, in my opinion, the stereotypical bare-footed, pregnant woman in the kitchen of the 1950’s and ‘60’s. The only difference is that she has spunk and isn’t pregnant until the last book.

It has some bad politics in it.