The Vampire Phenomenon: Have We Changed from the Victorian Age?

Male Sexuality

In Dracula, the sexuality of Vlad Dracula is almost overwhelming. No matter what re-make of the story you look at, his hair is always dark, he skin is always white, and his eyes are always striking. In the picture provided here, Dracula's eyes portray a sense of knowledge - Knowledge that he has, knowledge that he does not want to share. His hair is curly and soft-looking – hair like that you want to run your fingers through.

The way the women in his harem behave, you can tell they are forever attracted and attached to Dracula. In this image, one is holding on to his upper thigh, a sexually sensitive area of the body, while laying her head against his leg almost sensually. The blonde woman directly in front of him is keeping one hand back toward him while reaching out to the audience with clawed hands and bared fangs. This stance is one of protection. She is telling the audience that Dracula is hers and that she is willing to die for him. The third girl, directly in front of the other two, has her body centered toward Dracula and has turned her face to the audience as if someone called her name. The fourth girl, separated from the other three, I believe is supposed to be Lucy Westenra. Her hands are tied behind her back as if she must still be held in place or she would run away from him. However, the look on her face is as if she would lash out at anyone who tried to separate her from him. And lording over the harem is Dracula, the king vampire, with his open cloak expanded to encompass the entire harem as if shielding the women from the outside world. The women are completely devoted to Dracula and he knows it. He protects them.

In the modern era, a sexy man still tends to have those brooding eyes like Dracula. For some reason that I could never begin to explain, many heterosexual women are attracted to the bad boy who looks like he's been through a tragedy and needs taking care of. We want a brooding boy who can take care of us and will fight for us, but still needs us to take care of him emotionally when we get home.

This image of Damon Salvatore, from The Vampire Diaries, is an example of the brooding boy we are so attracted to. Notice the pain and confusion in his eyes, as if something has gone horribly wrong and he does not know why. His black shirt in this image is representative of his entire wardrobe, which is mostly black. The color black is often associated with mourning and sadness - and sometimes with motorcycles and bad boys if it happens to be black leather (which Damon sometimes wears). That he wears this color is indicative of the suffering that Damon has gone through in his long, very long, life and attracts audience members to him. We want to understand his suffering and help him through it.

The brooding stare from Damon's brother Stefan Salvatore is slightly different than that of Damon. Stefan's eyes portray a sense of strength through hard times. He looks like he's had a hard life but that he has pulled himself through it and is staying strong now. That strength is what audiences see and understand as his ability to protect them, to fight for them if necessary. He looks like he is holding in his sadness and guarding himself from it. That sadness and pain are the kinds of emotions that we women want to tap in to and talk to him about, to help him through.

Edward, from the Twilight series, is also a brooding vampire. His brooding stare is more angry, though, like he has a score to settle with someone. He looks like he could hurt you or protect you, depending on how he felt about you. Audiences want him to like them and protect them from dangers. We can tell from his stare that he would be strong in a fight. We want him to talk to us about why he is so angry, to open up to us about his history and his feelings. There is a connection when someone opens up to you about that kind of things that cannot be easily broken and that brings people together like very few things can.


Sexuality	Female Sexuality

	This image of Damon Salvatore, from The Vampire Diaries, is an example of the brooding boy we are so attracted to. Notice the pain and confusion in his eyes, as if something has gone horribly wrong and he does not know why. His black shirt in this image is representative of his entire wardrobe, which is mostly black. The color black is often associated with mourning and sadness - and sometimes with motorcycles and bad boys if it happens to be black leather (which Damon sometimes wears). That he wears this color is indicative of the suffering that Damon has gone through in his long, very long, life and attracts audience members to him. We want to understand his suffering and help him through it.
The brooding stare from Damon's brother Stefan Salvatore is slightly different than that of Damon. Stefan's eyes portray a sense of strength through hard times. He looks like he's had a hard life but that he has pulled himself through it and is staying strong now. That strength is what audiences see and understand as his ability to protect them, to fight for them if necessary. He looks like he is holding in his sadness and guarding himself from it. That sadness and pain are the kinds of emotions that we women want to tap in to and talk to him about, to help him through.
	Edward, from the Twilight series, is also a brooding vampire. His brooding stare is more angry, though, like he has a score to settle with someone. He looks like he could hurt you or protect you, depending on how he felt about you. Audiences want him to like them and protect them from dangers. We can tell from his stare that he would be strong in a fight. We want him to talk to us about why he is so angry, to open up to us about his history and his feelings. There is a connection when someone opens up to you about that kind of things that cannot be easily broken and that brings people together like very few things can.