Vampire and Womanhood
Catherine Deneuve in The Hunger, 1983.
Since our minds imagined hulking masses in the shadows, we have manifested our fears into monsters. They are loaded with anxieties supplied by the creator and culture. In their long, winding history, vampires have become a stock monster representing adverse desires: queerness, greed, and sexuality. Bram Stoker's Dracula pits their carnality against Victorian sensibilities, and its predecessor, Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, has women fall to lesbianism. Well, and also die. Yet today, the vampire has adapted from man's worst nightmare to woman's darkest fantasy. Think of Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Bill Compton from True Blood. And in the wake of the Twilight Renaissance, we want to revisit what makes the vampire speak to so many. It is a complex web of metaphor, but this article narrows in on how vampires represent female sexuality as it exists in tension between cultural shame and sexual liberation. A woman's life is marked in blood, so to speak. Menstruation is the gateway into sexual development for cis women, and for cis teenaged girls, it is the start of societal othering. Fitting then that a monster representing them is marked the same. The domination of purity culture influences the rules by which women and vampires play. Many of the popular vampire media target teen-to-adult female audiences since the thirst for human blood reflects their restricted sexuality. Speaking on The Vampire Diaries, writer Lindsay Gallagher notes in her essay, "Self-Control, Suppression, Abstinence," how this type of culture tells young women to "abstain from having sex until they are married in an effort to remain 'pure' for their future spouse," and compares that to how "Stefan, wanting to remain 'pure,' sees his human blood cravings (a normal part of being a vampire) as an addiction that he needs to control." The pressure to remain pure is at odds with the growing desire inside. And so, feeding becomes a representation of moral corruption through sex. If you give in to these desires, you'll die, either spiritually or literally. Then why is it so sexy?
Gemma Arterton in Byzantium, 2012.
It comes down to the fact that vampires are girl-coded, literally. They must feed, and through feeding, they procreate. So, sex and vampirism become a utilitarian part of life, a necessary evil. "The 'taking' of virginity in traditional marital sex," says A. J. Fewings for Reinvention Journal, "is mirrored both in the drinking of blood and in the 'taking' of mortality." It's why Bella becomes a vampire after she marries Edward. It's the most morally upright decision the two of them can make.
Spike & Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
But as female sexuality becomes less reviled, the danger of the vampire becomes less horrifying and more appealing, within reason. Just as there are "good" and "bad" women labeled by society, there are "good" and "bad" vampires. Angel from Buffy is good because he is a vampire with a soul. Compare that to Spike, who is as debauched as all the other vampires and even assaults Buffy. This also leads into the "willing victim" trope, wherein sexual relationships are deemed agreeable (if still looked down upon), so long as the parties consent. Practice safe vampirism! Even then, characters like Buffy still fall for the typical bad boy vampire because of their emotional complexity. As Carol Fry puts it for NBC: "[female audiences] love the image of a damaged, morally questionable young man who nevertheless can serve as her protector while she reforms him." The idea of a male protector may be a little outdated, but Fry has a point.
The sexual impulse and emotional complexity of the vampire are something female audiences relate to, as they often feel the same. It’s a “he gets me!” moment for media consumers. He gets you because he is you. He (since the romantic lead is so often a he) will always understand the fear pressed up against desire because he lives it every day as well. And who doesn’t want someone who actually asks if you want your blood sucked?
