Over at the Huffington Post, Laura Brounstein has contemplated the reasons we are so turned on by vampires. I can tell you that they are just plain “sexy”, in my opinion. She has elaborated on what we all know to be true as to the why’s of this phenomenon.
She writes:
I was bitten by the vampire bug early. I’ve always loved supernatural stories. You could say that I like stretching my imagination the way some of my SELF coworkers like stretching their quads. I grew up an only child, and I filled the childhood spaces that siblings might have inhabited with close friendships — some with people and some with characters from books and on screens big and small. It may seem odd, but my fictional companions were as important to me as my actual ones, and, in some ways, that’s still true as an adult. When Buffy (the Vampire Slayer) longed for Angel, her vampire soulmate, I felt her pain. When True Blood’s Sookie agonizes over Bill, I’m equally entranced. Recently, watching The Vampire Diaries, my heart broke for Elena’s travails with her wayward swain, Stefan, and I empathized just as strongly for Bella when, in the latest of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, she finally mated with Edward, with thrilling and terrifying results.
Getting swept up in the romances of these lovers and fighters has always felt more seductive and less scary than embarking on romantic adventures of my own. Stories about vampires and demons may seem silly to the uninitiated, but when done well, these otherworldly elements heighten the drama, as in any good tale. Vampires may be unreal, but they serve as apt stand-ins for human beings, experiencing the same highs and lows that come with loving, losing and surviving. Take the example of Buffy having sex for the first time with her boyfriend, Angel. Afterward, he changed, becoming cruel and dismissive. In his case, the alteration was due to a gypsy’s curse meant to prevent Angel from experiencing real happiness. But the reason isn’t important: How many teenage girls (or grown women, for that matter) have experienced the same scenario and been betrayed after giving themselves over for love? We all relate to the fear of being rejected when we let down our defenses and open ourselves up to someone. Buffy, like many women, dared to stick out her neck — and she got bitten. That’s one of the reasons we love her.
In some cases, it’s the vampire and not the human who is taking the greater risk in love, as Jessica’s plight in True Blood makes clear. To truly connect with someone rather than experience only a superficial one-night stand, Jessica must reveal her authentic self: She has fangs, she cries blood-red tears, and she possesses superhuman strength — she’s a vampire. Like many of us, she struggles with the fear that if a man sees all of her — her deepest self — he’ll find her too dark, intimidating, weird or frightening. In other words, if she dares to let her guard down, he’ll find her unlovable and reject her. Scary! Yet Jessica keeps putting herself out there. And each time she takes a chance on love, she’s braver about it. She’s able to be more honest about who she is and what she desires, growing ever more confident that she can find love, vampire-style. Isn’t that kind of courage the true definition of female empowerment?
There’s a simple no-pain, no-gain lesson here. The only way to experience something amazing is to open up and be real……..To read the rest of her article, go to: huffingtonpost.com
