One definition of “femininity” is “the quality or nature of the female sex” (Webster Dictionary). Each term can be defined in various ways within different context. In today’s society there is a distinct difference made between masculinity and femininity. Stephenie Meyer makes the argument that these stories are about humanity, often pictured as in distress, rather than about the stereotype of a “damsel in distress.” However, it is clear, through the swapping of gender roles in Life and Death, that the gender of the characters does matter and is the basis for how readers’ reactions to Bella/Edward differ from their perspectives on Beau/Edyth. This gender swap changes the overall outcome of the story and how it develops. However, in the ten-year anniversary edition Life and Death, when Bella Swan becomes Beau Swan, and Edward Cullen becomes Edythe Cullen, they are more or less seen as equals. In the original text, Twilight, the role of Bella Swan is made to be inferior to her male counterpart Edward Cullen. This became apparent in the reimagined version, Life and Death, which Meyer released for the ten-year anniversary of her break out series. The novel Twilight by Stephenie Meyer follows stereotypical gender roles that have already been normalized. Regarding gender roles, literary texts often reinforce the roles of men and women. Traditional gender norms play a large part to how text is formulated and presented in popular literature.
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