I recently re-watched Twilight for the first time since I was young. I was never a massive fan when I was younger but watching it now I am 24 years old disturbed me. Twilight promotes abusive relationships and creates an environment that makes these kind of relationships normal and accepted. *Gaslighting/emotional abuse* The first moment that stood out to me was the moment in which Edward denies saving Bella, despite Bella telling him she saw it. He quite literally told Bella she had fabricated the story due to her accident, which obviously wasn't true. This is a classic example of gaslighting, trying to make the other person question themselves and reality. This can have extreme psychological affects on a person's confidence, and their understandings of reality which can lead to severe mental health issues as they constantly have to question their reality. This was the moment warning signs started going off in my head. *Sexual assault/manipulation* Secondly, Jacob sexually assaulted Bella by forcing her into a kiss and forcibly holding her head. Bella repeatedly stated to Edward she would not marry him if they did not have sex whilst she was still human. This is manipulation into Edward having sex with Bella and can also be classed as sexual assault . *Isolation* Edward isolated Bella from her family. Once Bella turned into a Vampire, he told Bella she couldn’t see her father anymore and they had to pretend she was dead. Shouldn’t that have been Bella’s decision? Another red flag, your partner making decisions on your behalf without your input, especially when these decisions are yours alone. Edward also forces Bella to stop hanging out with her best-friend due to him being a wolf and Edward not liking wolves. Again, this should be Bella’s decision and not his. But he loves her right? So it is okay. No, abuse is abuse. *Emotional Manipulation* Bella had to drop her life to go to Italy to stop Edward from taking his life by Vampire. Any individual who threatens to take their life so the other saves them/returns to them is emotional blackmail and manipulation. *Physical abuse/Coercive control* Finally (despite there being many more incidences of abuse,) the abuse is not just between Bella and Edward. The leader of the wolves struck his partner after *She provoked the change into a wolf. So the insinuation then is that she was at fault as she provoked this reaction. Therefore, she had to change herself and her reactions to things in order to not provoke him so he doesn’t hurt her. The threat of this incident happening again can be seen as a form of coercive control as the survivor changes their actions in order to diminish the likelihood of mood swings and abuse by the perpetrator resulting in the perpetrator having control over their partner’s actions. I remember when I was younger, these relationships were idolised, and still are. The relationships children were watching glorified emotional abuse, coercive control, physical abuse and sexual abuse. People in my class were dreaming of having a relationship like Edward and Bella. I personally would not want my children watching Twilight for anything but as an example of what abusive relationships are and to spark a conversation in a safe environment about abusive relationships.

Similar to you, I also recently watched the franchise after having not viewed it for many years. I was also shocked by how problematic the films are. These relationships were idolised, which is so dangerous as they clearly entail so many harmful ideals. I feel that the influence of these movies are particularly dangerous for young girls who have perhaps not quite learnt what a safe and healthy romantic relationship should be.

I think Twilight is the most well-known example, but certainly not the only one. Many [**YA books**] (https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/30121.Abusive_Relationships_in_YA_Fiction) and series portray very problematic and toxic relationships as romantic. Many teenagers and young adults are influenced by what they read and what they see on television. So this concept, that a romantic relationship will change the abuser or that they are just misunderstood, encourages young people to either accept or seek out similar relationships to those they have seen misrepresented in their favorite books or films. I want to clarify that, whilst I have read the Twilight books, I have not read the vast majority of the books in the linked list.