4) Vampires
While the eroticization of blood-sucking immortals has reached new heights in recent years due to Twilight and True Blood, the phenomenon has been well-known in Western culture for a long time. Some see the reason behind it in evolutionary psychology, particularly in the desire for a mate who can provide and care for children. Vampires are usually portrayed as tall, handsome, virile, wealthy, and powerful, signaling good genes and high levels of testosterone. The fact that they are unpredictable and supernaturally powerful activates the brain’s reward system, releasing dopamine. Another factor is that vampires are inhuman and therefore “forbidden love,” which again releases dopamine, which is associated with focus and goal-seeking.
Rutgers University’s Helen Fisher even argues that it may be that women with high levels of estrogen are more likely to be attracted to portrayals of high-testosterone men, even if they’re dead and drink human blood.Donovan Gwinner, who teaches a class on vampires in popular culture at Aurora University, believes that there may be an economic link to the attraction to vampires: “In times of economic contraction, fear of job loss, and war, the vampire myth really speaks to people. What’s so bad about being powerful, almost immortal, always in control, and incredibly desirable?” Meanwhile, DeSales University psychology professor Katherine Ramsland spent several years researching vampire lore obsessives and came to the conclusion that it was all about the erotic appeal of danger and death: It’s kind of like autoerotic asphyxia, except that’s real. In terms of fantasy, the vampire mystique is 90 percent s3xual. It’s a metaphor for dangerous s3x. Because if it goes wrong, you’re gone.
While the eroticization of blood-sucking immortals has reached new heights in recent years due to Twilight and True Blood, the phenomenon has been well-known in Western culture for a long time. Some see the reason behind it in evolutionary psychology, particularly in the desire for a mate who can provide and care for children. Vampires are usually portrayed as tall, handsome, virile, wealthy, and powerful, signaling good genes and high levels of testosterone. The fact that they are unpredictable and supernaturally powerful activates the brain’s reward system, releasing dopamine. Another factor is that vampires are inhuman and therefore “forbidden love,” which again releases dopamine, which is associated with focus and goal-seeking.
Rutgers University’s Helen Fisher even argues that it may be that women with high levels of estrogen are more likely to be attracted to portrayals of high-testosterone men, even if they’re dead and drink human blood.Donovan Gwinner, who teaches a class on vampires in popular culture at Aurora University, believes that there may be an economic link to the attraction to vampires: “In times of economic contraction, fear of job loss, and war, the vampire myth really speaks to people. What’s so bad about being powerful, almost immortal, always in control, and incredibly desirable?” Meanwhile, DeSales University psychology professor Katherine Ramsland spent several years researching vampire lore obsessives and came to the conclusion that it was all about the erotic appeal of danger and death: It’s kind of like autoerotic asphyxia, except that’s real. In terms of fantasy, the vampire mystique is 90 percent s3xual. It’s a metaphor for dangerous s3x. Because if it goes wrong, you’re gone.
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