sex and vampires

Sex and vampires.

Talking about sex and vampires may seem redundant, since the popular imagination almost inevitably associates them.

In other articles we have already tried, with little success, to focus on the classic symbols behind the figure of the vampire, such as the myth of the vagina dentata, succubi, incubi and other sexual vampires. Today we return to those legends, many of which, fortunately, have been preserved clean of the aesthetic contamination of Hollywood.

Vampires, like any other manifestation of undeath within popular legends, are beings with an intense sexual appetite, which does not always manifest itself openly.

In other words, almost all the activities and habits associated with vampires have a strong charge of sexual symbolism, a virtue that has earned them an unquestionable permanence in modern myths.

Curiously, the famous vampire fangs are a late and purely literary invention. Aesthetically, they are an inseparable part of vampire iconography; However, thinking in practical terms, sharp fangs are absolutely inadequate for the function attributed to them.

The first appearance of a fanged vampire comes from the Gothic novel Varney, the Vampire, or the Feast of Blood, published in 1840.

Before that aesthetic novelty, popular myths claimed that vampires had two feeding methods, both associated with sex, but the opposite of seduction.

The literary vampire seduces, psychologically subdues, and then feeds.

The order is more or less the same in all vampire literature, and therein lies the formula for its success.

The male vampire subjugates his victims in such a way that it almost always gives the impression that they are the ones who voluntarily give in to his appetites.

There is never direct violence against the will of the victim, but rather a kind of dance of seduction that will finally end with total, absolute surrender.

Here we find the first sexual symbol in vampire culture: the relationship of powers and the desire to submit as the only vehicle for satisfying desire.

Viewed from a functional perspective, there is no need for vampires to seduce their victims. The imbalance of forces is so noticeable in favor of vampires that the exercise of seduction is rather superfluous, at least from this perspective, unless we understand that blood is just one part of the ritual.

The woman’s absolute abandonment to the vampire’s power of persuasion is analogous to sexual surrender. Offering one’s life, sacrificing oneself, is a sublimation of the act of giving one’s body to the desired person.

This equation is simple and very effective within symbolism but childish when we try to conceptualize it. In any case, the symbol can be reduced to the following formula:

In the sexual act—at least at the time when the myth of the seductive vampire was forged—it is the woman who abandons herself to the man. We are not talking here about submission, but about dedication and trust. And the woman who offers her trust is granting a gift: she allows the man access to her body without offering resistance as long as he has fulfilled the requirements and bureaucracies of courtship.

For the man—and also for the vampire—enjoyment is related to “conquest,” while for the Victorian woman it was linked to “discovery” and “surrender.”

The man seeks to conquer, of course, through cunning, feminine resistance. And the vampire, as a reflection of man, acts in the same way: he feeds on his prey only when it is completely subjugated.

But European vampire myths are less easy to reduce to simple analogies. The vampires of myth are bloodthirsty, insatiable, monstrous, and not at all seductive.

However, sex remains a central motif in their legends, but its symbols are less comparable to our behavior during courtship.

Let’s see why.

First of all, vampires had two tools with which they fed:

The main one was a kind of stinger located under the tongue, or in some variants, an integral part of the tongue.

Secondly, vampires had two small, sharp incisors, joined in the front part of the mouth, whose function was to penetrate the victim’s skin into a reachable surface for subsequent suction.

Unlike literary fangs, the incisors of legend allowed the vampire to cover the entire lacerated surface with his mouth, facilitating not only suction, but also the reopening of the wounds without removing his lips.

But why were two tools necessary when one was enough to feed oneself?

The answer is simple: myths are complex, and it is in that complexity where much of their beauty lies.

The stinger under the tongue had two functions; tearing the skin and muscle of the victim, since the vampires of tradition did not only satisfy their appetite with blood.

The sexual aspect of the sting lies in the area in which it was used. Male vampires, perhaps the only ones mentioned in tradition, preferred women’s legs, especially the inner thighs.

It is necessary to clarify that penetration is never talked about in this type of popular stories, although the message they sought to convey is evident: the image of a grotesque being coming out of the tomb, clinging to a delicate female body, tearing an area near the genitals. with a sting, is much more effective in literary terms than talking directly about penetration.

The most well-known enemy of vampires is undoubtedly garlic. Curiously, the tradition of using garlic as a weapon against vampires has an intensely sexual character.

The first mentions of garlic as an anti-vampire remedy date back to the Middle Ages. They were placed on doors and windows, that is, in those places through which an intruder could enter. Now, the garlic could not be placed arbitrarily. The task was performed by the oldest fertile woman in the home—who was generally no older than 35 years—during her period.

Today we know that when several fertile women live in the same home, their menstrual cycles tend to become unified, that is, over time, they begin to synchronize their periods with each other; which is why we can understand that the use of garlic as a vampire repellent in the Middle Ages was intended to “disguise” the feminine aroma, which acted as a kind of aphrodisiac for vampires or for those who posed as vampires. .

In our vampire breeds section we have examined many of the sexual symbols associated with vampirism, so on this occasion we will give an account of some references within that vast and invaluable corpus called The Golden Bough, by James George Frazer.

A certain Bavarian vampire has, like many of us, the healthy tradition of masturbating. Now, this does not translate into a problem, even when the solitary activity is carried out inside a coffin, the problem is that this vampire causes himself an erection just to devour his own member, an unpleasant habit that we do not recommend.

In certain areas of Wallachia, a curious method was adopted to scare away a lustful vampire, although it could only be done by a woman.

Apparently, the ladies of those rustic places were educated in the use of their own vaginas as a repellent method. According to James Frazer, vampires flee shocked at the sight of the female sex, and even—the scholar adds—the more hirsute the woman, the greater the chances of scaring away the perfidious beast.

A different situation occurred in Sisalpine Gaul, where vampires feared the sight of the virile gifts of young men. It is believed that this rumor, certainly unjustified, is born from the arrogance of the vigorous men of that area.

Vampires are and will continue to be symbols of sex. Each era has invested them with different nuances, but behind that clothing hides a single icon, a mirror in which we can aseptically reflect our own unspeakable desires.

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