The romantic subplot of The Hunger Games can make it seem like a Twilight clone: a young woman torn between two men who are driven to protect her, yet can’t seem to help endangering her. But scratch the surface, and you’ll find that heroine Katniss is quite the opposite of pallid, passive, lovesick Bella, and she’s got a lot to teach us about the current culture wars. In fact, it’s hard not to think of President Snow’s creepy obsession with controlling Katniss’ love life without being reminded of the Republican Party’s similar fixation on controlling our ladyparts. When Katniss manages to destabilize and ultimately upend a government hell-bent on manipulating her to its nefarious ends, she offers a blueprint for how to not only survive, but win, the war on women.

(Source: hegemon)