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Cosmo Jun
Daniel Hurtado
Ricardo Martinez
Veronica Pineda
Vampires and Sex
Ricardo: Hello you, today our group will delve into an intricate conversation about
vampires and sex. My name is Ricardo Martinez.
Veronica: Veronica Pineda.
Daniel: Daniel Hurtado.
Cosmo: and Cosmo Jun.
Ricardo: We came together as our interest in the various portrayals of the sexually active
vampire became more evident through the years. We took two of pop culture’s
biggest vampire phenomenon: True Blood and Twilight, and studied the way
vampires and their sexuality were represented. I should mention that we are
focusing mostly on the Twilight films but brief references to the book will be
made. But we did not limit our scope to the 21st century and visual media.
Daniel: No. We also decided to pick the most famous vampire of all time, Dracula, and
studied Bram Stoker’s portrayal of sex in the book. By expanding our materials
into reading maybe we can feel some different effects on how the vampire is
sexualized. 2
Ricardo: I will personally take care of True Blood and all its readings, whereas Veronica
will talk about Twilight and its treatment of sex. Cosmo will do some dissecting
of Dracula. Daniel will close us off with some further analysis and we will all
comment as we think needed.
Veronica: With our findings, we hope that you, our audience, can see the differences
between portrayals in visual media and literature through the times, and how sex
and vampires may have not been linked to each other just for the sake of shocking
audiences, but to reflect the shifting perceptions of society as a whole, towards
more than sex, but social issues broadly.
Ricardo: We will open the discussion with Alan Ball’s True Blood which aired in the HBO
network in 2008, ending its steaminess in 2014. Based on the popular The
Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris, it stars Oscar-winner Anna
Paquin as the telepathic server Sookie Stackhouse and Stephen Moyer as vampire
Bill Compton and Sookie’s first, main love interest. Other characters will be
introduced as I talk more and more, but the latter two characters needed to be
mentioned since they are the most well-known, iconic, and, well, they have a lot
of sex.
If you have heard any rumors about True Blood, they probably mention a lot of
sex. It may be true. From the first episode, opening with a couple of drunken
people doing things they should not be doing while driving, and then the opening
sequence. As the music goes on, and a man sings of the real bad things he wants
to do to you, there are blurry scenes of strippers, flirting men and naked people—
it really sets the mood for the whole series. But, fret not, it is not just a display of 3
what men and women do behind closed doors as this show is quite “inclusive,”
per se, of the sexual acts. Not only does it have references to S&M culture but it
has its fair share of queer relationships, as important characters like Tara,
Sookie’s hilarious best friend played by Rutina Wesley, become progressively
queerer, and discover something unexplored. Though never really labeling it. This
is important to point out because the inclusion of queer sex was refreshing but
also a big theme in the show, as the vampires in the series become more than
blood suckers, but as some critics and scholars think, a representation of the
LGBTQ experience. To exemplify the last claim, as also seen in the opening
credits, there is a sign in a rundown street that reads “God Hates Fangs,” and I do
not need to say how that could be read as a sentiment that reflects onto real life.
The disapproval of vampires is most obvious by the behavior of Sookie’s sexual
Olympian brother Jason, played by Ryan Kwanten, and his distaste for the women
who have slept with vampires in the past. His closemindedness is laid in the first
few episodes of the show. If you pay close attention to the nuances said by people
like him, or the acts of the townspeople of the fictional Bon Temps, Louisiana,
you can notice the difference between this vampire program and any other
vampire anything.1
It is in the brains of True Blood that its portrayal of sexually active vampires
becomes more than a superficial display of Alexander Skarsgard’s heavenly
body—thought it doesn’t hurt, no offense. The unique approach to demonstrate a
sexually liberated vampire resonates with not only the LGBTQ community, but
1 Frederik Dhaenens “The Fantastic Queer: Reading Gay Representations in Torchwood and True Blood as Articulations of Queer Resistance." 4
perhaps, people in general, as times progress and the normalization of a natural
act ensues. Unlike Dracula, that will be discussed shortly, where sex is just an
undertone, the show embraced it and had plot lines revolving around it, like
Sookie’s virginity or Jason’s sexual past making him a suspect of multiple
murders (all in season 1, but others seasons continue this trend). What the
audiences get are contested sexual spaces and a world of openness, to everything.
Even more symbolic is that this happens in Nowhereville in the Deep South, as
such areas are not known to be contemporary. I guess that prevalent irony makes
this show a thrill to watch and to study, at least to me.2
As our conversation progresses, I hope to respectfully interrupt my peers and add
my two cents concerning this show, but for now, it is enough of Bon Temps, and
we follow with a fairly recent rave: Twilight.
Veronica: Twilight is one of the biggest vampire movie series of all time, earning over three
billion dollars with its five movies. The first, released in 2008, was directed by
Catherine Hardwicke and starred Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, the human, ditzy
new girl, and Robert Pattinson, the handsome glittery vampire. The movie was
based on the novel of the same name, written by Stephanie Meyer, as a part of the
larger series, like the movies. While rewatching this movie recently, I noticed a
lot of allusions and references to Stephanie Meyer’s own personal beliefs and her
values, and studied how that reflected onto the sexuality in the film. The first
value I noticed Stephanie Meyer may believe in that ultimately influenced her
writing is the idea of the “victim and savior relationship”. The “savior” feels
2 Elizabeth C. Hirschman and Morris B.Holbrook. “Consuming the Vampire: Sex, Death and Liminality.” 5
obligated to take care of the “victim”, who then becomes codependent and relies
too much on the savior for their emotional needs.
Ricardo: Like, bad S&M.
Veronica: Maybe. With anti-feminism, the concept opposes all forms of feminism: women
joining the workforce, equal voting rights, reproductive rights, the ERA, and
more. In Twilight, Bella’s entire life revolved around Edward. She is always
“Saved” by him and never really has the chance to be independent once they
meet. 3 All this starts to occur when Bella and Edward meet for the first time.
After they meet in their chemistry lab, Bella is in the school parking lot when a
van is about to hit her. Edward is able to move quickly to block the van from
hitting her with his hand. This is definitely one example of his “savior complex”,
where the man has to come in and “save” the woman from harm’s way. Bella
relies too much on Edward after that as he saves her more and more, and more
and more as the movies progressed.
Edward also represents a “prince”, who is mature and able to control his sexual
urges. On the other hand, Bella is a virgin who wants to act on her sexual impulse.
They never consummate their relationship together until much later, but have a
deep love for one another. She grows from a girl to a young woman as she starts
to fall in love with him.4
Meyer was also influenced by her belief in the Mormon religion. Mormonism is a
religion practiced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Mormons
believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that he is their savior. In addition,
3 Reni Eddo-Lodge. “The Anti-Feminist Character of Bella Swan, or Why the Twilight Saga is Regressive” 4 Elizabeth C. Hirschman and Morris B.Holbrook. “Consuming the Vampire: Sex, Death and Liminality.”
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they believe in chastity, going as far as to wear special undergarments as a
reminder of their beliefs. In Twilight, Meyer makes Bella and Edward’s
relationship chaste, which is continued in the film. 5 For example, to show how
sexual tension played a crucial role, in one scene, Edward is at Bella’s house at
night. She starts to kiss him, and he eventually pushes her away and backs himself
onto the wall. Bella starts to apologize for what happened, which is also further
evidence of their “savior and victim” relationship. Then, he mentions that he can’t
ever lose control of himself around her or else he will turn her into a vampire. Or
have sex with her.5
The limitations of sex are not unique in this series. In fact it is similar to what
other, older, versions of the vampire were, sexually, importantly.
Cosmo: That is right. This is where my topic, Dracula, comes in. Dracula is not only one
of the most recognizable vampires of all time but is also the most iconic figure in
gothic literature. Despite the novel’s comically flamboyant, yet, gothic portrayal
of Dracula, Bram Stoker’s character helped emphasize the vampire myth because
it paid homages to the classic Slavic Vampire Folklore by representing Dracula to
have sharp teeth and a dark, monstrous figure. But it did so much more than that.
The novel also depicted vampire sexuality in subtler ways than what my peers
discussed earlier, but it is still appropriate to mention. Stoker displayed sexuality
by portraying some of his female characters with sensuality, for example: Lucy or
the three female vampires. One particularly “sexy” is when Jonathan Harker, the
5 Lydia Kokkola. “Virtuous Vampires and Voluptuous Vamps: Romance Conventions Reconsidered in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Series.” 6 “What is Mormonism?” Newsroom Website. 7
solicitor that meets Dracula before his friends in London, confronted the three
female vampires who attempted to seduce him and drink his blood after he started
to learn about Dracula’s real identity. Even though this scene was brief, it
epitomized open sexuality when the three vampires were kissing and touching
Harker. This scene defied the “woman traditions” of the Victorian era because, at
that time, women were supposed to be viewed as elegant and not sensual. In other
words, they were to be perfect virgins. Another character, in the novel, was Lucy,
the popular maiden who becomes Dracula’s first target in London, also a socialite
who had close relationships with multiple men in the past—a big no-no for the
Victorians. Sexuality is implied with this character because, even though she had
numerous relationships or connections with men, we do not actually see Lucy
having a sexual affair with Dracula or any other humans. 6
The novel, portraying vampire sexuality, compares to the media portraying
sexuality today because the novel became a gateway or example for sexuality to
all the entertainment mediums that came afterwards. At a time period where
women could not become an iconoclast in any way, novels like Dracula were
what first introduced sexual desires, or just overall sex, in the vampire lores.
People, like in the Victorian Era, would be appalled and even outraged by some of
the themes and topics depicted in the novel, which is why it makes it necessary to
consider for this topic. For example, the idea of a woman like Lucy having
multiple love flings was considered unethical to men because the patriarchy
intended to see women as permanent virgins, and the first man that wooed her
7 Andrew Green. "Voyeurs and vampires: sex and sexuality in Bram Stoker's." 8
was the one. As time progresses, the radical changes in sexuality began to be
more apparent in modern times with True Blood like Ricardo mentioned, but even
Twilight, despite its religious, chaste background. It still showed much more than
what Stoker wrote—or permitted to write.
Now Daniel will continue with an analysis of our research that will bring out
other important vampire stories. Take it away.
Daniel: Thank you. Comparing the older literary vampire with the modern
vampire…there is a really glaring difference between the two. Traditional, literary
vampires like Stoker’s Dracula or, to keep it in Ireland, Joseph Sheridan Le
Fanu’s Carmilla do not blatantly display traditional sexual intercourse like the
modern vampire tales do. Anything physically sexual in nature revolves around
the vampire’s bite. If you look at that scene between Jonathan Harker and the
female vampires in Dracula, Harker, at the touch the vampire’s fangs on his neck,
“closes his eyes in languid ecstasy.” While these vampires are sensual and erotic
and the figurative embodiment of sexual liberation, there is not anything explicitly
sexual about them, just some hints.
Veronica: So, why the big change from the 19th century vampire to the 21st century vampire?
Ricardo: She is asking the real questions.
Daniel: Well, if you look at some of the movies and show with vampires that come out in
the late 20th century in the build up towards our two big focuses, Twilight and
True Blood, this transition in the sexuality of vampires becomes a little bit clearer.
The death of the Hays code has a lot to do with that. 9
The Hays code, by the way, is a set of censorship guidelines instituted in the ‘30s
that pretty much outlawed anything obscene, violent, sexual or profane from
films. It was part of the same religious conservative backlash in the 1920s that
brought about prohibition. This strict moral code for movies lasted up until 1968
when it was finally abandoned.7
Out of this sudden creative freedom came a lot of new campy vampire b-films
like The Vampire Lovers, Daughters of Darkness and Requiem for a Vampire
depicting sexual vampires, often female vampires, in erotic scenes. The overtly
sexual vampire of the 70s gives way to a new more human vampire in the 80s. In
Tony Scott’s The Hunger, David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve play elegant,
androgynous vampires who seduce Dr. Roberts, an anti-aging scientist played by
Susan Sarandon, and drag her into their world. 8Even through its rather raunchy
lesbian vampire sex scene, this arthouse film elevates the vampire to a more
artistic form moving away for the campiness of the previous decades. Another
great pioneering vampire film of the 80s was Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys.
The movie follows Michael, a teen who moves to California and gets drawn into a
gang of punk, black leather-wearing vampires. The film gives teens the chance to
finally feel like they too can become vampires and provides insight into the queer
experience in California during the 1980s. The bleached hair, piercings and punk
attire of the vampires are all queer indicators of the period, and the story itself is
very reminiscent of a coming out story. The sex scene between Michael and a girl
who turns out to be a vampire works as a heterosexual buffer for the homoerotic
8 Melissa Block and Bob Mondello. “Remembering Hollywood’s Hays Code, 40 Years On.” 9 Cameron Beyl. “Tony Scott’s The Hunger (1983).” 10
scenes later between Michael and Ben, the head vampire. It even comes with the
younger brother throwing pseudo-homophobic slurs like shit-sucking vampire or
death breath in place of dick-breath.9 The Lost Boys, just like True Blood, is a
great example of how vampire represent otherness especially in the context of
sexuality.
Ricardo: Vampires have been reflections of our society constantly, and it really grasps the
attention of audiences. A lot of them are teens—finding what the truth is on sex.10
Daniel: Exactly. Most interestingly, I think, and maybe importantly, while looking at the
foundations of the modern vampire in Bram Stoker’s Dracula and watching how
the myth of the vampire grows and changes into the current day, it becomes
apparent that the vampire is so much more than a sexual object like in the campy
movies of the 70s. I think this is all summer up well when thinking that the
vampire myth is reconfigured in different cultural contexts to embody what is
feared and desired, and feared just because it is desired. 11
Cosmo: The vampire in the Victorian Era served as a launching point for the liberation of
the female from her traditional role in the patriarchy. The sexuality that the
vampire personified, even if it was mild and safe, was a starting point for
something bigger later.
Daniel: Sexuality became important when vampires resurged again in the 70s and 80s
during the Sexual Revolution in the United States. The vampire provided an outlet
for queer representation in the media and sexual freedom after the heavy
traditionalism of the 50s and earlier.
10 Harry M. Benshoff. Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and the Horror Film. 11 Karen Backstein. "(Un)Safe Sex: Romancing the Vampire." 12 Gina Wisher. “Love Bites: Contemporary Women’s Vampire Fictions.” 11
Ricardo: This transitions into True Blood’s depiction of the vampire whose open sexuality
and willingness to current confront social issues is very indicative of change and
progression in society’s willingness to open itself into sex.
Veronica: Even Twilight, affected by the more religious and traditional views of its author,
helps to give a good read on modern culture in the focus on abstinence and the
struggle of the two main characters between controlling and giving into their
sexual urges. You can really see how the sexuality of the vampire evolves in the
media and becomes a true reflection of our views.
Ricardo: As erotic as this conversation has been, we hope that you enjoyed the
information, and further appreciate our fanged fiends for more than horror or
campiness, but for its power to be just as human as you and me.
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Works Cited
Backstein, Karen. "(Un)Safe Sex: Romancing the Vampire." Cineaste, vol. 35, no. 1, Winter
2009, p. 38.
Ball, Alan, creator. True Blood. Your Face Goes Here Entertainment and HBO, 2014.
Benshoff, Harry M. Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and the Horror Film, University of
Southern California, Ann Arbor, 1996.
Beyl, Cameron. “Tony Scott’s ‘The Hunger’ (1983).” The Director Series, 8 February 2017.
Web.
Block, Melissa and Bob Mondello. “Remembering Hollywood’s Hays Code, 40 Years On.” All
Things Considered. Hosted by Melissa Block, National Public Radio, 08 August 2008.
Transcript.
Dhaenens, Frederik. "The Fantastic Queer: Reading Gay Representations in Torchwood and True
Blood as Articulations of Queer Resistance." Critical Studies in Media Communication,
vol. 30, no. 2, June 2013, pp. 102-116.
Eddo-Lodge, Reni. “The Anti-Feminist Character of Bella Swan, or Why the Twilight Saga Is
Regressive.” Kritikos, V.10, January 2013. Accessed 15 April. 2018.
Green, Andrew. "Voyeurs and vampires: sex and sexuality in Bram Stoker's." The English
Review, vol. 14, no. 1, 2003, p. 24. Accessed 21 Feb. 2018.
Hirschman, Elizabeth C., and Morris B. Holbrook. “Consuming the Vampire: Sex, Death and
Liminality.” The American Journal of Semiotics, vol. 27, no. 1, 2011, pp. 1-45.
Kokkola, Lydia. “Virtuous Vampires and Voluptuous Vamps: Romance Conventions
Reconsidered in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Series.” Children’s Literature in Education,
vol. 42, no. 2, June 2011, p. 165-179. Web. 13
Stoker, Bram, and Leslie S. Klinger. The New Annotated Dracula. New York: W.W. Norton &
Co, 2008. Print.
Twilight. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, Summit Entertainment, 2008.
Wisher, Gina. “Love Bites: Contemporary Women’s Vampire Fictions.” A New Companion to
the Gothic, edited by David Punter, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2012, p. 224-38.