Sexuality and Sin: Hedonism Surrounding the Sultry Vampire

Though connotations such as these were not as prevalent with the beginning of the vampire as explored, today's image of the vampire, as well as the connotations surrounding the creature of the night, has certainly become one of pleasure, or more specifically, the very action of participating in hedonism. However, what does the evolution of this mythological creature from a simple bloodthirsty demon, to a sex symbol, a representation of taboo action, and a representation of sinful hedonism, truly mean?

In truth, the connections between sexuality, or hedonism in general, were created to act as a taboo, to allow people to repent and reject sin. To be a vampire was everything a human, or more specifically in this context, a godly believer, should reject. Creatures of the night, shunned by the light of God, indulgent within lust, whether it be sexual or not, and to live life without shame; quite negative actions one could take during these times, especially in a religious context, whereas most of these negative connotations originally are related to. These traits should be something to shun, to be feated upon, and placing them upon the vampire allowed them to be portrayed in even more of a negative light. Ignoring the obvious sexual and hedonistic purposes that people may have of the vampire, from bodice-ripper novels to instilling fear unto religious believers, the vampire has become a sexual symbol of another type in recent days, that is to resist oppressive forms of sexual repression. To become free, true to yourself, and unforgiving to those of which who view your doings as wrong, are rather prevalent within many liberation and sexuality movements, such as Queer liberation, sexuality, and the BDSM community. To view life as pleasurable and to seek it out as much as possible, sexuality to be liberating, and to reject traditional values are all shared traits of reality and the fictitious creature as well. In all, despite their quite literal demonization in much of the early literature surrounding them, using hedonism and sexuality as a negative thing, it was their sexualization and hedonism that allowed them to finally be viewed in a sympathetic light, humanized in a way. Throughout time, instead of simply being a symbol of sex and disease, a method of folklore as a type of protective measure, they have additionally become human, despite everything.