In a traditional sense, porn is defined as “something with no literary or artistic value other than to stimulate sexual desire,” according to the Webster’s dictionary definition.”Twilight,” the hit vampire series by Stephenie Meyer, is precisely that. The books offer nothing more than female escapism complete with a price tag, sleek dust jacket and a complementary bookmark.The escapism is expressed via the caricaturized romance between Bella, a teenage girl who bears a suspicious resemblance to series’ author, and Edward, a century-old sparkling vampire who can’t decide whether he wants to kiss Bella or eat her.Though the series is often labeled ‘pornographic,’ the text is surprisingly devoid of explicit sex. But Twilight’s brand of porn, otherwise known as “girl porn,” does not rely on graphic material to captivate its female audience. Rather, this special type of porn manifests itself in the form of emotional binges, excessive romanticizing and interaction with impossibly perfect male characters.Girl porn has existed for years in the various forms, from the clever and sophisticated Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte novels to the less tactful bodice-rippers by garden-variety romance novelists. Both kinds have had their share of success, though neither has claimed the limelight the way “Twilight” has.It’s gaudy success has aggravated seasoned novelists. “Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn,” Stephen King told USA Weekend this past February. “[Twilight] is exciting and it’s thrilling and it’s not particularly threatening because it’s not overtly sexual.”Books like Twilight are nothing more than junk food for the female soul masquerading as literature. King is correct in his accusation that Meyer can’t write worth a darn, given the books’ amateur structure.The series devotes a total of 2,443 pages to sappy prose, abused adjectives, nauseatingly detailed descriptions and sub-par dialogue. References to Edward’s “glorious, heavenly, seraphic” beauty tally at a vomit-inducing 165 in the first book, and only increase as the series progresses.As a blogger on Twilightsucks.com put it, “Twilight reads as if Meyer had opened a thesaurus, looked up the words ‘sparkle,’ ‘beautiful,’ and ‘breathtaking,’ then proceeded to catalogue every synonym she found.”Despite being below bird-cage-liner standards, the series has somehow managed to generate an obscene amount of revenue. The Twilight books and movie have earned more than $356 million in profits. That’s not even counting the other three movies, which have yet to be made, or the DVD sales for the first movie, which is scheduled for release later this month.Sadly, this proves literary skill is not required when marketing to romance-starved women. But to Meyer’s credit, these figures also prove she knows her audience extremely well. Once mass marketers figure out Meyer’s “Twilight” formula, it’s only a matter of time before entrepreneurs jump on the bandwagon and push fictionalized romance into the uber-mainstream, thereby reaping gross profits by hooking women on emotional binges and ridiculous fantasies.Romantic escapism is alarmingly addictive, and, as it is with any industry that markets addictive products to needy people, windfall profits will certainly follow at the expense of the consumer.It is an insult to female sexuality to be marketed to in such a tasteless way. Additionally, such unashamed marketing will have serious repercussions by giving women unrealistic expectations about men, just as regular porn gives men unrealistic expectations about women.Ladies, if you still want your emotional fix, then read Jane Austen or the Bronte sisters. They had class at the very least, not to mention readable prose, an actual plot, and a more wholesome grip on reality.——Contact Linnie Leavines at [email protected]