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It only gets worse from here for Kristen Stewart's Bella. Much, much worse.
Confession: I’m a grown, married woman in my 40s with two kids and was completely sucked into Stephanie Meyer’s "Twilight" series a few years ago.
I read all four books in one long weekend and when I got to “Breaking Dawn,” and the whole baby-birthing scene, I was horrifyingly transfixed.
Another shattering crack inside her body, the loudest yet, so loud that we both froze in shock waiting for her answering shriek. Nothing. Her legs, which had been curled up in agony, now went limp, sprawling out in an unnatural way. “Her spine,” he choked in horror.
The next sound jolted through me, unexpected, terrifying. Like metal being shredded apart.
Sure, as moms we know childbirth is no picnic. But add vampire craziness, like the baby busting out of Bella, cracking her ribs along the way, not to mention a vampire-fang C-section of sorts and loads of blood, and, well, it just makes you want to stay FAR AWAY from having a baby, not to mention making one.
Which is precisely why all those teenybop Twihards – including my middle-school daughter and her pals -- who have swooned and mooned over the otherworldy vampire/werewolf romance and its buffed and beautiful characters, should go see the latest Twilight saga movie “Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” which is rated PG-13 and opens Friday.
By all accounts, Kristen Stewart’s Bella has a childbirth scene that’s just as gruesome as portrayed in the book.
Robert Pattinson, who plays red-eyed, hottie vampire Edward, described part of the scene to the Los Angeles Daily News (which, by the way, calls it “perhaps the ickiest birth scene ever filmed”):
"Basically, it was Kristen lying there. It was her head with this emaciated dummy; it just looked so authentic lying there, covered in blood. You just realized human beings' frailty, and there's no way not to feel that when you're looking at it.”
Pattinson seems pleased the fourth film enters into adult territory, the Daily News reports, adding the actor’s “still trying to wrap his head around where the tween-adored, carnally toothless fantasy has gone this time around,” with its sex and pregnancy and more emotionally mature material.
I’m with Team Edward on this point, but for different, more selfish reasons: How can sex scenes (where the bed is broken), and pregnancy (where a belly moves freakishly, due to the half-vampire/half human creature inside) and a (nearly-fatal, frighteningly bloody) childbirth NOT be a deterrent to hormonal teen girls?
Live Poll
OK, let's settle this once and for all. Vampire or werewolf?
My daughter and her friends were around 10 when they first started asking to read "Twilight." At the time, there was a big debate among us moms on whether they were too young. We all – at varying times -- decided the romance part of the tale was over their heads; the fantasy part, ridiculous but harmless. (And getting a 5th grader to read a 498-page book? Amazing.) That said, many of us drew the line at letting them read “Breaking Dawn,” because of its mature content.
But now they are 12- and 13-year-olds, with real-life (albeit, so far innocent) boy crushes on courtly, hunky Edward-types and loyal, athletic Jacob-types. These boys, thankfully, walk around in gym shorts and hoodies and don’t seem to have any supernatural powers, unless you count throwing a baseball really hard or running fast on the football field. And the "Twilight" theme of idealized romantic scenarios is becoming a little too real.
Isn’t it worth a try to quash it -- or at least slow things down -- with a $10 movie ticket? And I’ll throw in some popcorn. With butter. And a ride, there and back, to the theater.
Pattinson says of "Breaking Dawn’s" ghastly birth scene: "There was no easy way, at all, that you could hide from the reality of it.”
I translate that message to this one for my daughter and her friends: Boyfriends can lead to sex, which can lead to pregnancy, which can lead to childbirth. That is reality.
So, young ladies, by all means go see "Breaking Dawn." Here's hoping it will scare you so bad you’ll want to hide from it.
Kavita Varma-White is a writer, editor and mom of two tweens. In between cheering at numerous soccer and baseball games, she's a contributing editor for TODAY Moms and MSNBC.com.
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Movie Ticket - $10.00
Popcorn - $6.00
Having your daughter watch Twilight to avoid having "the talk" - Priceless
If this is the new trend in sex education, I fear for our future generations...
Really? Really? You want her daughter and her teen age friends to be turned off sex and pregnancy by watching Breaking Dawn? As the mother of two girls (21 and 14), I certainly don't want them having unprotected sex, or having a baby before they are married and mature enough, but I would NEVER use scare tactics like the unnatural sex, pregnancy and birth scenes in this movie to make the point to my daughters. And if you use this tactic yourself to reinforce this misguided sex education attempt (Oh, you see what happens when you have sex...it almost kills you, then it leads to a horrible pregnancy and the baby beats up your body and practically kills you coming out...), I can only feel sorry for your daughter and hope you set up a fund to pay for the years of therapy she will have to undergo to rid herself of the fear of sex and childbirth. Try talking to her instead. It's a much kinder way to educate her about the risks of unplanned sex and having a baby.
I'm 19, and I know I wouldn't let my mother talk to me about sex. She made half hearted offers every so often, said I could talk to her about anything, but I turned her down. Why? Because it's too awkward to discuss sex with your mom or dad.
My thoughts exactly Stargazer...thanks for saying this.
The discussion being "awkward" is a valid point. That being said, the scenes from Breaking Dawn should not be considered a comparable form of sex education. At that age I only wanted to be treated like the adult I thought I was. I would hope that parents wouldn't insult their children by forcing what is essentially propaganda on them instead of having an intelligent conversation.
plllllease...get off your high horse. It's only an op-ed, doesn't mean this writer means it as gospel.
What a nit-wit. Sorry lady, but most of us have not lost touch of reality.
"So, young ladies, by all means go see "Breaking Dawn." Here's hoping it will scare you so bad you’ll want to hide from it."
And YOU won't have to be bothered to do any ACTUAL parenting.
When she was a schoolgirl, Helen Mirren, the actress, saw footage of a baby being born as part of a sex education class. She was so repelled that she swore she would never have children, and she never did. You want to be careful you don't overdo it with the scare tactics. Even seeing natural childbirth can be too strong a deterrent.
Wow! Are you actually saying that girls should not see real childbirth videos because, armed with the truth, they might make the informed choice to NOT go through that?
I guess you think it's better to keep them ignorant, barefoot, and pregnant.
I wasn't saying that. For sure let them see real childbirth videos and let them know what they're getting into. My understanding is that the Twilight birth scene makes it look more horrific than it is. Perhaps I should have said "seeing natural childbirth can be a strong deterrent" rather than "too strong a deterrent". There was nothing wrong with Helen Mirren's decision. It was a properly informed choice.
Having considered the matter some more, I think my saying "too strong a deterrent" is correct. My take on the article is that the author wants to provide her daughter with a temporary deterrent to pregnancy and childbirth. She is speaking in the context of boyfriends. For her daughter to receive the kind of deterrent Helen Mirren received (a permanent one) would be "too strong a deterrent" for the author's intentions. In that sense I referred to permanent deterrence as "too strong".
I didn't mean to comment on the soundness of Helen Mirren's decision. But suppose we do consider it… Imagine you are Helen Mirren's mother. Your daughter comes home from school and tells you she has been shown a video of a baby being born, and that she is so repulsed by childbirth that she is determined to never have children. How would you respond? Would you think that's a sound decision or would you tell her that there are rewards to having children and raising them that outweigh the repulsiveness of the birth? It seems to me that women generally want to have children. They must feel that the rewards of children make the ordeal of the birth worthwhile. Lots of women who have had one child want to have more, fully aware of what childbirth is like. Wouldn't most women say that to allow the repulsiveness of the birth to deter someone from having children is allowing the birth to be "too strong a deterrent"?
I fully respect Helen Mirren's decision. It was properly informed in that it was based on seeing an actual childbirth rather than a grotesque Hollywood creation. No woman should feel obligated to have children. I tend to applaud women who are brave enough to choose not to. Hopefully they have considered all aspects of child birth and rearing in making their decision.
It's a fiction movie for crying out loud!! It's not REAL!!
I want to make something very clear, especially to the highly derisive and insulting "barefoot and pregnant" commenter (ignorance and pregnancy DO NOT go hand in hand, thank you), that just as a schoolgirl is not of the maturity to make an "informed decision" that she wants to get pregnant, nor is a schoolgirl of any capacity to make an "informed decision" NOT to get pregnant.
I do not know of any high schooler or younger fully informed enough to make such an "informed decision".
I apologize for my posts. The original one came about by what amounts to an accident… Several months ago, I read an interesting article at the Today Show site. I was going to post a comment but then I noticed that the article was on the Today Moms section of the site. I thought: this is a forum for mothers; I shouldn't be posting here. So I didn't. The other day I was scanning the main Today Show page, looking for interesting features. I clicked on this article and read it. I found the mother's desire to give her daughter a bad scare rather amusing but thought it might have serious consequences. A note of caution seemed in order. There were only a few comments at that point. The first one was by someone with a male name; the second was by someone using a pseudonym and the gender wasn't apparent. I posted my comment and a little later (after the 3 minute grace period) I noticed that this article is part of the Today Moms forum. I thought: I've inadvertently done what I was careful to not do months ago. I wanted to delete the post but found no way of doing that.
A few days later I came back and found that there had been some negative reaction to my post: one comment but 5 people (it's now 6) had clicked the up arrow in agreement, enough for the comment to merit a star as highly rated. I wish I had worded the last sentence of my post more carefully to avoid misunderstanding and the need for a lengthy explanation. The suggestion that I think girls shouldn't see videos of real childbirth and should be kept ignorant and pregnant (and barefoot, to boot) is a serious charge. At the worst misunderstanding, my wording should have been interpreted as simply a bias on my part in favour of girls eventually becoming mothers.
In retrospect, I'm surprised at being taken to task over such a small slip in a forum called Today Moms. Shouldn't the environment here be quite pro-Motherhood? A little graciousness could have accommodated any error I made. I'll be extra careful to not comment on a Today Moms article in the future.
All the best to all the Moms here. Sorry to intrude.
You are not intruding, Mr. Loney, parents together make decisions for their children, not mothers alone...my response was actually more directed to Syd99, for their irresponsible attack; I was offended by THEM, because of their presumption that pregnancy and ignorance go hand in hand. Being a mother of 7 children, and often hearing this type of ridiculous commentary (while my husband gets smiles from the Amish men nearby), I get angered quickly when someone (Syd99, who I assume is female) makes the assumption that I did not choose myself to have these children, but rather that I was uninformed and kept "barefoot and pregnant" to satisfy some male-dominated lifestyle.
I like to think I am hardly a "yes-sir" type of pushover, and I am not an ignorant woman just because I chose to have children. Some educated women recognize the fulfillment, challenge, opportunities, and love that having children presents.
Also show them a normal childbirth, one with pain relief. So they do not do that "natural" childbirth.
Teach birth control and safety.
I have 3 girls, 11 years and under. The mere thought of allowing Hollywood or any other form of media to educate my girls on sex instead of taking the responsiblity for myself is unfathomable whether it is an uncomfortable conversation or not. I am responsible for these life lessons not some else.
All of you, except the author, are totally overreacting to her article! She didn't say this would replace sex education or keep her from parenting her children. Take a step back, breathe deeply, relax and please, stop creating a problem that doesn't exist! She wrote this "tongue-in-cheek", and as a Twi-hard mom w/ daughters aged 34 & 30, I agree w/ her. Let the daughters watch movie and say "ewwww" and "ouch". It's not meant to be a deterrent per se, it's just something to think about.
Karen, I don't think you get it. Here's what she says:
"I translate that message to this one for my daughter and her friends: Boyfriends can lead to sex, which can lead to pregnancy, which can lead to childbirth. That is reality."
Nowhere in there does she mention birth control, which is a big part of a modern woman's sexual experience. She also says "Isn’t it worth a try to quash it -- or at least slow things down -- with a $10 movie ticket?" Why not talk about it instead of quash it or slow it down?
Yes she said
"I translate that message to this one for my daughter and her friends: Boyfriends can lead to sex, which can lead to pregnancy, which can lead to childbirth. That is reality."
and that IS reality even with birth control this is the reality, no birth control is 100%. I believe taking the (pre)teens to see the movie may actually open up a dialog for many mothers and daughters. They will be curious to know if childbirth is really that bad and by all means depending on the pregnancy it can be... so if this is an opportunity for her to have "the talk" in a way that makes her child comfortable more power to her
Well said, Donneyelle. No birth control is 100%, and that is just the ugly truth. When we tell children that birth control allows them to have sex as much as they want without consequences, we are lying to them, not empowering them.
I get a little exasperated with the "Just teach them about birth control" argument. (By the way, "morals" are a side issue that I find relatively irrelevant to this conversation. I am a very practical person.) Birth control helps immensely, of course, but it is not a sure thing. The pill is especially difficult for teenagers who do not always take it as they should -- every day, same time of day. It is pretty easy for it to fail due to "user error." Therefore, no one should be having sex until they are ready to parent the child that their actions might produce should birth control fail -- women or men. Period. This doesn't mean you "have to wait until you are married," as many single people are perfectly able financially and emotionally to parent a child. There is no magic age, either. Some young 20 somethings might be ready, others may not be ready until they are in their 30s or beyond. Responsibility does not end with "Did I take my pill this morning?" Birth control is great and important, but only one aspect of being responsible for your reproductive behavior. We have given birth control too much power at this point and it is time we were honest with ourselves and our children that they do not make us invincible. It is a tool, not a free license.
Oh, good grief. Now we're going to argue about whether birth control is effective? For the record, if used correctly, it is 99% effective. I'm saying that it's important to mention to our daughters. It was important that my mother taught me about it.
I'm not saying "just give them birth control." I'm saying don't rely on scare tactics to control their sexual desires, which are natural.
People should boycott Breaking Dawn, period.
Not only is is a horrendous piece of turd, but it is full of Mary Sue characters, has no plot whatsoever, and has all sorts of bad messages towards girls, including pedophilia (Jacob and Renesmee...and don't give me that Meyer idolizing bullcrap).
Stephen King had it right when he said, "Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn!"
(This coming from a Twilight fan, English lit major, and an advanced writer...I hate Breaking Dawn. Most of all, I hate Renesmee! She is the biggest load of crap, aka Mary Sue V.2, since the fantasy genre began! Worst of all ALL OF Breaking Dawn is about idolizing Renesmee as a perfect God-child!)
Aleithia, you're an idiot...and a snob...and apparently in the minority.
Or maybe, Donna, you refuse to see Breaking Dawn for the piece of firewood *coughCRAPcough* it really is.
Stephenie Meyer REALLY outdid herself on that...no, really...and I thought she couldn't write any worse or lower than a 3rd grade level! Hahahahaha!
Nice try at deflection, really made me laugh about how ignorant you are about the truth!
Even Robert Pattinson agrees, Twilight is crap...
Donna Nichols, this is your first comment after registering. Read the rules:
You're suspended for a day for violating #1 of the Code of Honor.
Aleithia, mind the second part of that rule:
Ok, I dont have an issue with the movie replacing "the talk" scenario, I understand that she did not say that specifically and some here have jumped to their own conclusions, but, my issue is that she allowed a 10 year old to read this type of story. The love scenes and gore content alone were enough for my wife and I to put the kybosh on our then 10 now 11 year old daughter reading it. Our whole issue with this movie is that the girl is depicted as some frail-cant-fend-for herself waif and must always have a man take care of her. Not to mention the racy sex scenes depicted in the books, and the death and gore. Far too much for a 10 or 11 year old if you ask me. I also have an issue with the 30 and 40 year old women who are "lusting" for Edward or Jacob based on their hotness....Trust me, these are the same women who will sit and point fingers at a 40 year old man who oogles an 18 year old girl and call him a lech and a dirty old man.
hey, us 40-something's are young compared to Edward...he's what, over one hundred years old? ;)
I'm tired of the whole one sided argument about 'high school girls and junior high girls shouldn't have children for blah blah blah reasons'. I'm twenty years old, and never done anything risky with a guy, the reason being I get the scarlet letter from 'caring conscientious adults'. Girls in my high school got pregnant all the time, and they never once regretted their decision. They had their group of girlfriends cheering them on and supporting them, and their children will never regret their decision for bringing them into this world. Sure, childbirth and sex are scary things, but even a forty year old woman can still say 'it's not a party' for themselves to experience. All those teen girls who make that decision to get pregnant love their babies, but it's people like this who make them think 'well, i don't have a right to enjoy what i have, so i'll just let them win and stop openly loving my children'. we give our virginity away when we're young, we get pregnant when we're young, and we love our decision to do so. i've wanted a son with my boyfriend since we were seventeen, and i know already what's in store for me, so what do you say to that? i know it's not going to be a picnic giving birth, especially since our son is going to be a BIG one, but i'm still going to go through with it because i love our future son. what do you say to that?
I'm not sure anyone understood a single thing you just wrote...and not sure you do, either...THAT's what I say to that.
all i can say is ...you have no clue as to what you are talking about. one of these days you will realize what i say is true. you are 20 you don't even know who YOU are yet; let alone being ready to raise another human being. kids today just get pregnant and think it is going to be one big happy adventure. babies are hard work, they are expensive and they will help you find every flaw in your relationship. kids magnify ALL the problems. you say you have been wanting a baby with your boyfriend since you were 17...really are you serious? you have so much growing up to do. for you to even utter such a ridiculous statement shows your age and level of immaturity. i wish you and your baby luck honey. you are going to need it. once you find out you can't go back that you are responsible for this child for the rest of your life it will be to late. there are no take backs you don't get to start over. the best years of your life should be your early twenties, now instead of learning about life you will get to learn how to change a diaper. good luck with that.
I was pregnant with my first child at 20 and delivered at 21...and 12 years later I'm still happily married.
If your boyfriend can't commit to being a husband for you, why would he commit to being a father to your child?
Yes Twilight the worst excuse of fanfiction based on a sex dream itself should deter young girls from getting pregnant. Honestly all Smellers did was steal the Alien franchise 'birth' cause her junk science is just that junk.
Even Robert Pattinson thinks so!
I think teenagers are smart enough to know that: yes, sex leads to pregnancy. But the birth scene is obviously fantasy and not the norm. I don't think it'll deter anyone from sex if they still want to have it; or scare them away from childbirth anymore than the real thing already does.
First, let's all calm down a bit. The author of this article was clearly being tongue-in-cheek with her suggestion that the "Breaking Dawn" birth scene is a acceptable alternative to parental sex education. Let's not go overboard with righteous indignation, for crying out loud.
Second, I will not let my daughter (she's 12) read the Twilight series because it is vapid. They are built around and romanticize the worst idea on earth - that you can make life-altering (and, in this case, life goes on forever) decisions when you're 17. That's stupid and dangerous. There's a lesson worth talking about.
I don't think anybody's day has been ruined by this article, and I think people are right to voice their frustration over the kind of parenting represented above. Also, I reject the insistence that this article is "tongue-in-cheek" or that this is obvious...I didn't read it as such, and if it's meant to be that way, the writer should have included a statement at the top of the article stating that. So where is your proof that the author wrote this in the tone you suggest?
You know, this is an incredibly dysfunctional way to try to get teenagers to avoid having sex so they don't make babies. Surely, having a conversation with teenagers about the spiritual ramifications of haphazard sexual behavior would be much more useful, as would talking to them about the emotional and psychic wounding caused by abortion or about the realities of trying to give birth to an unwanted child -- and just how painful and difficult that is.
Of course, it's very difficult to get young people to understand the impact of irresponsible sexual behavior when adults, themselves, are engaged in pornographic sexuality, and when millions of adults have conceived children haphazardly and in moments of fleshy indulgence.
On top of all the distasteful adult sexual behavior young people are exposed to, they are further degraded by having adults in positions of authority handing them condoms and never mentioning the word "love" when providing them with so-called "sex education." This, in effect, is encouraging loveless and haphazard sexual behavior, which is leading to hundreds of thousands of unwanted teen pregnancies and a virtual epidemic of repeated abortions and children being gestated in wombs where they are not wanted.
And as if all the above weren't bad enough, we then add to the pot a group of adults who go so far as to create a repulsive film, which flat out lies about childbirth -- and offers our youth vivid scenes of horror which they claim represent what it is like to bring forth life. The cracking of a woman's spine during childbirth is not only an absurd idea. It is evil. As is the desire on the part of yourself and whoever created this film to get young people to fear childbirth and resist having children.
Childbirth is, in its highest expression, the glory of God and the fulfillment of human love. It can be an incredibly beautiful, even ecstatic experience, or it can be its opposite, depending on how we approach human sexuality and the energy and thoughts that were present when the baby was conceived, or during its gestation and birth.
I am absolutely sickened by a culture in which parents don't think about these things because they are too busy watching/reading smut. And not only do they watch/read smut, but they also let their children do so. In your case, you are ENCOURAGING your child to observe this dark and even demonic representation of childbirth, which is off-the-charts insane.
All I can say is God help you both because it is clear to me you are both gonna need it.
Oh--this is just psychotic in a completely different direction. Where is the logic in your statement that handing a kid a condom encourages loveless sex, leading to unwanted pregnancies? Do you understand that this is what condoms are meant to prevent?
I was a young teen more recently than you, and I can tell you for a fact that spiritual discussions don't work, scare tactics don't work, and slander about abortions don't work. EDUCATION about SAFE SEX works. They're going to do it, and they're going to learn about it. It's up to parents to arm them with what they need to do it safely.
Yes, on the surface it would seem that the promotion of condoms is meant to prevent pregnancy. Yet, when we look deeper into what adults are teaching it goes something like this --
"we, ourselves have chosen not to control our carnal impulses and to completely ignore the impact this is having on our species and our civilization. We have, for the past several decades, relentlessly conceived children who were not wanted. We have been willing to murder to those children by the millions so that we can continue to let our carnal expression go on unabated. We have made dozens of excuses for our lame and pathetic behavior -- for example implying that we don't have free will because our "hormones" control us -- and, naturally, since we ourselves refuse to get a handle on our carnality, we cannot expect you -- the young people of America -- to do so either. So what we will do instead is encourage you to believe you have no control over your carnal impulses (due to hormones or some other such nonsense) -- and thereby we will teach you to do just as we have done... and come what may. Here - have a few condoms. It doesn't matter if you love person. It doesn't matter if you are "having sex" in fear (because you are afraid of disease or bringing forth life). What really matters is that you DO IT!!! This way, you will never question the sick and twisted behavior of the adults around you, but instead become one of them."
are you kidding? LOL i can't believe there are twisted folks like this that think it is so evil to promote birth control. if you hate sex that much don't have it, but don't destroy it for the next generation because you are uptight. this is the craziest one out here yet!
all i can wonder is do you actually have children? you are WAY out there! you must be one of those ultra religious types or something. most people have a healthy view of sex and procreation but this jeanice person is beyond anything i have seen as far as uptight! wow lady you are really something. i wonder if you do have kids how much therapy they will need later.
Attn: Cyndi - when and if I choose to have children, they will be conceived, gestated, and birthed in love and will require far less interventionist modalities than most humans living on the planet today. Children who are conceived by parents that actually love each other (rather than lust after each other), who are wanted and called forth with intention, fare far better than those who have been brought forth haphazardly and who were created in moments of fleshy indulgence during which their parents were using each other's bodies to derive a physically satisfying experience. This should be absolutely common sense to anyone with a mind that is clear, and the fact that you think this is "way out there" indicates just how far your current thinking is from truth.
Um if I didn't use condoms my husband and I would have about 50 kids by now. So you are saying, even if you are married, you should only have sex to procreate? Oooook.
Your facts are also wrong in your previous post, not promoting sex Ed has been shown to increase teen pregnancy and sexual diseases. I suggest watching a film called the Education of Shelby Knox and do the research for yourself if you don't believe me. Education is the key.
Jeanice, what are you quoting up there? Don't throw something out and put quotes around it without naming your source, please. It's irresponsible and it makes your posts stink of an obvious religious agenda, based on lots of emotion and very few facts.
Also, used correctly, condoms are 99% effective in preventing pregnancy. So, yes, that's pretty much what a condom does. I'd be interested to see the scientific data involved in the statements you're quoting above, thought I'm pretty sure you'll be unable to come up with any.
Hey JWhip1 - which quotes are you talking about? I seriously have no idea. If you are talking about the quotes that surround the paragraph I used to describe the debase mentality of so many adults -- these are my words, my thoughts, my way of communicating what is going on in the nether regions of people's psyches -- especially those who promote condoms to youth.
And just for clarification -- I am NOT religious. Been there. Done that. Have come to see that religion is one of the most powerfully orchestrated, malevolent means by which a chosen few can manipulate millions into thinking the force of Love behind Life is a violent, misogynist, war-monger who adores human sacrifice (especially of first-born infants), is willing to see his own son ritually tortured and murdered (for "the good" of all), demands that infant boys have a piece of their penis cut off to create a covenant with him (typically done without anesthesia, by the way), and so on. Not a deity that I am interested to worship. Thanks anyway.
So just to be sure - I am definitely not religious and my "agenda" has nothing to do with religion. But what it DOES have to do with is helping people recognize the spiritual warfare that is going on in this dimension, and that the current expression of human sexuality is a fundamental means by which the dark forces are winning.
Jeanice, I'm talking about this bit:
"we, ourselves have chosen not to control our carnal impulses..."
So, you're quoting...yourself? Uh, okay.
Also, if you're not religious...what the heck are you referring to when you say "dark forces"? Actually, nevermind...I'm not sure I want to know what's going on there.
Wow, have y'all ever heard of satire? Y'all are taking her words too seriously!
My three girls saw how hard my pregnancy was on me and have vowed to never have kids, they are 10, 9 and 8. Do I seriously think that they will never have kids because they saw everything I went through? Um, no, they are kids. They will learn more about sex/pregnancy and change their minds as they grow older. Do y'all really think the author is going to just tell her teens to watch the movie and thats it? Do y'all really believe that this scene will end up scaring them so much that when they grow up they won't ever have kids? It's a fictional movie with fictional characters! I think the overwhelming majority of Tweens/teens know that little fact even if some adults here do not! Of course the author will explain safe sex to her girls! She is simply stating if this particular scene in this movie makes her young daughters think twice before having sex, GOOD! Really, what the heck is so wrong about that?!
Nothing...aside from the fact that it's irresponsible.
Also, have you ever heard of satire? The dictionary defines it as "the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc."
What exactly is she denouncing, deriding, or exposing? Check your dictionary before you use a word you're not familiar with.
So now that you know what the movie is about or even knew what it was about to begin with, have the "Talk" with your girls before they go and tell them, this is not how it really goes, and such and such. But dont use this movie to scare them, they might just never have kids because of it. My mom always told me the good things about childbirth and I know about the pain she went through, she didnt hide anything. Dont scare them, just so you dont have to have the talk with them. And they will think twice about having sex if you explain things to them.
What the Twilight Saga has to say, or not, about the perils of sex and pregnancy is chump change compared to its aggressive romanticizing of stalker behavior. Edward Cullen is a perfect catalog of behaviors that every young woman should recognize as signs that she is involved with an abuser-- NOT the One True Love of her life.
For every battered woman who ever said, "No, he really does love me. It's just the world doesn't understand how special and wonderful he is, and anyway, I have things totally under control," here is a book/movie series to confirm for her that she is right, and friends, family, the police and the court system are all wrong.
If the series had never approached the matter of pregnancy at all, it would still be irresponsible parenting to let any young girl enter this twisted fictional universe.
Some have said that thisbad influences on girls, well then intourduce your girl to some strong woman, like Wonder Woman or Amelia Earhart, too. Don't cut this experience out of your child's life. This is what happens in the real world. Your child will be exposed to it somehow. I bet alot of you parents got to go see Star Wars when it first came out and some may have said it was violent and bizarre and a bad influence. I saw it midnight premiere with my friends. Did it tramatize me? NO!!! The one thing you need to tell your kids is that it is fiction, fake.
I think that most everyone is smart enough to say this is not the norm for childbirth. I believe that a normal childbirth video along with birth control and "the talk" that every parent dreads but must go through should be enough of a deterent. The truth is I am a mom to 2 very active boys and I dread it but I would dread even more either of them having a child before they are stable enough to raise one. Parenting and teaching are the jobs you signed up for when the doctor said you're pregnant so no matter what its your job to do so.
I haven't seen "Breaking Dawn", and I'm not a Twilight fan, but my children remember the 6 weeks I spent in the hospital, split-second emergency surgery so fast an ER surgeon delivered me instead of an OB before the anesthesia fully kicked in, the three blood transfusions I needed just to stay alive and the year recovery afterward from one of my pregnancies with placental abruption that I'm pretty sure they won't really care much about the fake stuff in Breaking Dawn. Real life is unbelieveable enough.
Parents...TALK to your kids, don't rely on a movie to do it for you...forget about a teenager not being able to care for a baby, or support it, or that you'd basically need to become a parent again yourself...think about the fact that some people really don't survive pregnancy sometimes...isn't the thought of losing your own child enough to bridge that ickyness gap?
This is a really stupid idea. No one is going to become (or remain) abstinent from a movie scene. Girls already know that labor is hell; there mothers have already told them. My mother didn't have anything near the problems I had, but nonetheless . . .
No, you make sure your kids, male and female, are involved in a good sex education program. If the school your kid attends doesn't offer one, then FIND one. Check with your local Unitarian Congregation. That's where I sent my son. They used the OWL (Our Whole Lives) Program, and it was fabulous. After my son completed that, there were no more silly sex jokes, "stupid" questions, etc. He started taking sex very seriously. And no, he hasn't started having it yet. Trust me, he tells me everything, and he would definitely tell me that. If you can't find a good program, get some literature and devise one on your own.
You can show them videos of smashed up cars from people drinking or texting and driving . . . has that stopped them? You can show them ads with a kid being bullied until some nice kid intervenes . . . so all bullying has ended? Now you're going to show Bella giving birth and all teen sex will mysteriously come to an end? In your dreams, people.