Books

What Do You Think Of A Gender-Swapped ‘Twilight’?

by Emma Oulton

In case you missed it, on Tuesday morning Stephenie Meyer pulled a Beyoncé on us, and dropped a totally surprise project: a brand-new gender-swapped Twilight . It’s been three years since the last Breaking Dawn film, and it’s all gone rather quiet ever since — but as Twilight ’s 10th anniversary approached, Meyer hinted that something big was on the way. A lot of people thought she would finally release Midnight Sun, the much-anticipated retelling of Twilight from Edward's point of view — but the real surprise was far more unexpected. Life or Death: Twilight Reimagined tells the same old story of Bella and Edward, except this time they’re called Beaufort and Edythe. And Edythe is the vampire.

Now, I instantly thought this was an awesome idea. Gender-swapping novels and films can be a really interesting way of exploring gender dynamics and perceived gender roles, as well as a way to get more women into the badass roles they deserve! From Angela Carter’s gender-bending fairy tales in The Bloody Chamber to the Ghostbusters remake with four hilarious women at the lead — gender-swapping always produces great results. So I went straight out and bought this book the second it was announced.

But it seems not everyone is on my side. In fact, the issue of whether you’re #TeamEdward or #TeamJacob is no longer the biggest divide in the Twilight fandom. The far more important issue right now is what you think of the Twilight gender swap.

Some people, like me, are crazy excited.

Whereas some people are just disappointed that it’s not Midnight Sun.

Then, of course, there are the people who never liked Twilight in the first place.

And the people who just think the whole thing is hilarious.

But no matter how you feel about the gender-swapped Twilight, there's one important question on everybody's lips.

Image: stephaniemiranda/Instagram