A Saga About Sex

A solid Twilight-themed look at why age inappropriate sex scenes aren’t the worst thing that a kid can read in a romance novel.

Show Notes

Sources used in this episode:
Auerbach, Nina. Our Vampires, Ourselves. Univ. of Chicago Press, 1996.
Meyer, Stephenie. Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined. Little, Brown and Company, 2015.
Meyer, Stephenie. Midnight Sun. Little, Brown and Company, 2020.
Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight. Atom, 2015.
Waddell, Terrie. “Consensual and Non-Consensual Sucking: Vampires and Transitional Phenomena.” Hospitality, Rape and Consent in Vampire Popular Culture, 2017, pp. 147-161., doi:10.1007/978-3-319-62782-3_4.

Suggested reading:
This article about the misogyny of “bros before hoes.”

Conversation starters for talking about romance novels:
1. Is there sex in that book?
2. Are boundaries respected? What does consent look like?
3. What is love? Do characters react lovingly when expressing emotions?
4. Does anyone threaten suicide when they don’t get their way?
5. What kind of double standards exist between boys and girls?

National Sexual Assault Hotline is 1-800-656-4673.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number is 800-273-8255.

Check back every Wednesday for a new episode! Also check out Nermer Nermer, an explicit comedy podcast made by the same people who brought you this one. Plus, follow Nermer Nermer on Instagram.

What is Stephenie Meyer Ruined My Life?

Stephenie Meyer successfully inspired a Twilight Renaissance when she released of Life and Death (2015) for the ten year anniversary of Twilight (2005). Since then, a bunch of Twihards armed with the internet started psychoanalyzing her characters and critically obsessing over her books. A second wave of the Twilight Renaissance was born with the release of Midnight Sun (2020).
That’s where I come in. Who is more dangerous in the Stephenie Meyer worldview: men or vampires? And how does Bella Swan survive someone who is both?