I’ll admit it: I’m a fan of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight. Despite the poor writing, one-sided characters and sexist gender stereotyping, it’s a cute story. There’s just one thing that really bothers me: Edward’s behavior toward Bella. Edward shows several abusive signs but is portrayed as a perfect soulmate.

Before they even date, Edward creeps in Bella’s window to watch her sleep at night. He follows her home from school and lurks in trees while she’s outside. He refuses to let her drive when they are together and loathes all other boys who admire her.

Edward’s behavior grows progressively worse as the books continue. In order to “protect” Bella from her shapeshifting friend Jacob, Edward forbids and disables her to see Jacob. He stays with her, hires a vampire babysitter or dismantles the engine of her vehicle so that she can’t get away. Even when Edward relents he insists on dropping her off, picking her up, and demands an explanation if she will be late.

Whenever Edward wants to persuade Bella, he uses charm or kisses her until she forgets what she was arguing. Bella forgets and neglects all of her friends, even her mother. He arranges that they sit next to one another in every class, visits her in the evening and crawls through her window to stay with her all night. Bella complains to the reader that “though the afternoon was the only time I spent away from Edward, it was enough to make me restless, and the hours always dragged.”

In context, a few of Edward’s behaviors make some sense, but Meyer doesn’t define fact from fiction. What about the young women who are starting to figure out dating and relationships, and have been given Edward as an example of the ultimate perfect boyfriend?

It’s no secret that young women are extremely susceptible as victims of intimate partner violence. According to feministcampus.org, women ages 16-24 are at the highest risk of IPV, with 32 percent of college students as victims. In addition, half of 911 calls are related to IPV, as are 15-30 percent of emergency room visits. Meyer doesn’t need to help these statistics along by glorifying a controlling boyfriend.

Reading the partial manuscript of Midnight Sun, Twilight from Edward’s point of view, I realized that someone may have pointed this out to Meyer. The book, attempting to help readers better understand Edward, injects thoughts into some of his creepy actions, like self-disgust and the desire not to be a peeping Tom. But of course, he does these things anyway. The book might not ever be published because someone leaked the partial manuscript on the Web. Even if it is eventually finished, it will never have the weight, impact and popularity of Twilight because it is merely a supplement to pre-existing fans.

This is social irresponsibility. I don’t believe in censorship, but I do believe in using your brain to figure out what is a good idea to write in the first place. With IPV a well-known issue, Meyer and her editors simply should have known better.