Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings.   Today’s post is about Vampires and their inherent connection to sexuality.  I will be breaking down the concept of Vampires and Sexuality, and how Vampires are used to explore sexuality, into four sections to explore a little more deeply below.   Without further ado, let’s look at Vampires and Sexuality!

LUST EQUALS BLOODLUST

~A very common theme within a lot of Vampire lore in pop culture is the idea of equating all lust with the bloodlust all Vampires feel.   There are several examples of tales where Vampires only feel bloodlust, as everything sexual is subsumed by the lust for blood.   This is something found in the books of Anne Rice and The Vampire Diaries book series by L.J. Smith.   Notably, both of the television adaptions of these properties do not include this aspect of Vampirism.   The Vampires have bloodlust in equal measure with the sexual lust, with bloodsharing becoming part of the sexual relationships of these Vampire characters!   Interestingly, in The Vampire Diaries book series, bloodsharing between Vampire mates, and between Vampires and humans, is used as a substitution for having sex, further exemplifying the concept of lust and bloodlust being intertwined.

SEXUAL FREEDOM

~The next aspect of Vampires related to Sexuality I want to cover is their Sexual Freedom.   After all, there is an abundance of bisexual and homosexual relationships found in Vampire literature and pop culture.   The Sexual Freedom of Vampires becomes the focus of many tales featuring them, with some using it as a source of the fear of otherness, while others use it as a source of understanding.    There is often an adage when talking about Vampires, that all Vampires are bisexual, due to their gaining sexual liberation when they were turned!   It makes the utmost sense that Vampires, who are often ancient beings, would have a lot of freedom in how they feel attraction.   In a literary sense, Vampirism can be used to explore sexual orientations that are not accepted at the time when a book is written, which is the most common interpretation for Carmilla, clearly, this novel can be interpreted as using the Vampire to veil a lesbian love story.   That is part of why Carmilla still holds such an impact on readers, it is a story that is layered and shows love between two women, even if one of them is not human!   In general, when you live forever, love becomes just love, not mattering how other people may view you.   I adore the fact that it is so common to have Vampires be shown as so sexually free and liberated.   I fully believe in and support the freedom to embrace sexuality in whatever ways are true to us, and I think Vampire media definitely expresses this well!    

VAMPIRISM AS A SEXUAL METAPHOR

~Now, we have come to the most iconic aspect of Vampires and Sexuality, the use of Vampirism itself as a Sexual Metaphor!    Vampirism has penetration, fangs into skin instead of sexual penetration, and exchange of bodily fluids, blood instead of sexual fluids.    It is very clear to see that the aspect of drinking blood for Vampires is a deeply Sexual act, whether or not Vampires in the lore can have physical sex or not!   This is likely what made Vampires so intriguing to people for generations.   In the nineteenth century, during very buttoned-up times, it is obvious that Vampires and their aspect as a Sexual Metaphor speak to those repressed souls!   Vampires were tantalizing and feared in equal measure, but they were and still are a subject we cannot get enough of.   Essentially, there is always something that Vampires can signify that speaks to the times, it is all about reading between the lines and figuring out what specific Vampire stories are trying to teach us! 

VAMPIRIC MERMAIDS & FAERIES

~Finally, I want to touch upon Vampiric Mermaids and Vampiric Faeries.   Although they are not the traditional image of Vampires, there are many stories of Vampiric Mermaid and Faeries in folklore.   The Leanan Sidhe, or the Vampire Lover of Ireland, are often seen to be Vampiric, that they feed on the energy of their mortal lovers during sex, almost like a Succubus.   The Vampiric Mermaid is very similar to the Siren, they may feed sexually, but more often feed on blood like a regular Vampire.   In both cases, you have the Fae, whether Water Fae or other types of Fae, being deeply connected to both sexuality and vampirism, which is why I had to mention them here!

~I hope you have enjoyed this exploration of Vampires and Sexuality.   What is the most interesting aspect of Vampires and Sexuality to you?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a lovely artwork by Victoria Frances.   I found the image on https://abrahamstoker.blogspot.com/2015/06/victoria-frances-vampire.html.

Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services!    I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon!  Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/  

Further Reading/Watching

• A New Dictionary of Fairies by Morgan Daimler
• The Vampire Diaries Series by L.J. Smith
• The Vampire Diaries (2009)
• The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice
• Interview with the Vampire (1994)
• Interview with the Vampire (2022)
• Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu