Twilight has set up almost an impossible expectation for young girls regarding romances and relationship. The Twilight trilogy portrayed a normal plain female role that developed an unhealthy interest on Edward Cullen, a seemingly perfect vampire male figure who is the object of desire for all women. The relationship between the two main cast, Bella and Edward, is basically an endless vortex of unhealthy obsession that Bella has toward her vampire lover, to the point where she has engaged in reckless, and even suicidal activities in order to relieve some of her desire for Edward, which includes getting on a motor bike of a gang member in a dangerous alley, jumping off a high cliff into the ocean. And considering that Twilight is the most popular books and movies for young teen currently, what kind of message has these examples been sending them? Twilight's fans consider Bella a role model, an obsessive girl who appears to only have tunnel vision and only cares about being with Edward selfishly, not caring about whether she hurts anyone around her (namely her Dad). While some may argue it is fiction and Twilight is a love story depicting two people that are meant to be together, the relationship portrayed in Twilight is not love, it's obsession.
The main reason that Bella is a bad female role model for young teens is that her character is defined only by her obsession for Edward. She has no interests of her own, and breaks apart whenever she's not by his side, as shown in New Moon when she spends three months in her room crying after Edward leaves town. Would most parents want their children to fall into depression and shut away from their families and friends after a failed relationship? If relationships in real life are to become similar to those that are portrayed by the Twilight series, then depression and suicidal rates amongst adolescences would soon skyrocketed.
The main reason that Bella is a bad female role model for young teens is that her character is defined only by her obsession for Edward. She has no interests of her own, and breaks apart whenever she's not by his side, as shown in New Moon when she spends three months in her room crying after Edward leaves town. Would most parents want their children to fall into depression and shut away from their families and friends after a failed relationship? If relationships in real life are to become similar to those that are portrayed by the Twilight series, then depression and suicidal rates amongst adolescences would soon skyrocketed.