FangBANG.

'Kay you guys, so obviously True Blood's huge, and biting it's way to the top with a vengeance. Love them or hate them, vampires have a sexual edge in American culture (as well as many other cultures, i.e. succubi, inccubi, etc.) and pose fascinating questions about the human psyche: love of S&M, blood play, dominance/submission, and all that bloody jazz. Even if you are absolutely disgusted by the idea of such things, the average human holds a morbid fascination for what they imply. I mean, what the hell else do ladies' church circles talk about (not that I would fuckin' know)?

One thing that fascinates me (and this could actually be stemming more from my knowledge of the books to the actual series) is that vampires in the show/books do seem to allow for sexual ambiguity. A bunch of people are getting up in arms about this, stating that the show demonizes gays, stating that the vampires on the show represent the homosexual minority metaphorically (in the book, the author, Charlaine Harris, describes the act of vampires exposing themselves to humans as "coming out of the coffin"):

If these murderous, evil creatures are figures for gay people, then they are figures for the religious right's worst nightmare of what gay people are. Their orgies are soaked in blood, and one sip of their v-juice can convert anyone to a mindless, lust-wracked pervert.

Show creator Ball has made ambivalent comments about the way his vampires seem uncannily to resemble gay people. “For me, part of the fun of this whole series is that it’s about vampires, so it’s not that serious," he told the Los Angeles Times. "However, they do work as a metaphor for gays . . . for anyone that’s misunderstood. At the same time it’s not a metaphor at all."

Article entitled "Let's Face It: 'True Blood' Hates Gay People"

I shall respectfully disagree. While, yes, some of the characters on the show do seem to get a little blood-happy and murder scores of southern belles yearning for a sexual thrill, I'd actually tend to believe that it is a form of sexual empowerment (Evan Rachel Wood can murder the FUCK out of my thighs, buffet-style, any day of the week), not necessarily exclusively for homosexuals (the bars in which they convene depict more of an S&M theme versus a gay club. You wouldn't catch Eric sniffing poppers and jamming to Lady Gaga). The vampires in the series, while they could have remained anonymous creatures of the night, and preyed upon unsuspecting humans, actually did take the step to ally themselves with the human culture. They voluntarily subjected themselves to the shitshow that is human nature, which is rarely (in my opinion) forgiving. These creatures are highly superior in a multitude of ways: supernatural abilities, such as flying, super-speed, etc., immortality, blah di blah. They could have easily overpowered us, with their superior political skills (the kingdoms of the culture are outlined more thoroughly in the books than the series) and the multitudes of human lackeys that would guard their unconscious forms throughout the night, simply for the privilege of being their midnight snack upon awakening. Instead, the vampires chose to coexist, and assimilate themselves into a culture whose primary function, to them, is fucking food. Vampires have sex, at will, with those who are willing to submit, often with little to no regard of the gender of the submissive. These hyper-evolved beings who have suppressed their love for human juice in favor of assimilation, despite their obvious advantages over humans...have a tendency to not care whose junk they're bumping. 'Tis aaaaall about the lovin'. Hearts not parts, am I right?



Don't really care if I'm right, it's an interesting concept. Even virginal heroine Sookie Stackhouse casts aside her conservative upbringing, submits to Bill's appetite for blood, and enjoys every second of it. He drinks from her every time they have sex. P.S. There are a lot of opinions flying around about the Bella/Sookie dichotomy, which is hilarious to me. One is the voluntarily impotent protagonist spewed from the subconscious of a sexually suppressed Mormon housewife... and then there's Sookie. Say whatchu like, but anybody who'd bitch-slap a Maenad with a sparkling white light of doom can handle themselves. Sookie's got a couple of big ole' balls rolling around in her junk drawer.

So, if Sookie can embrace the darkness of the vamps, even revel in it, why can't we embrace the "darkness" within ourselves? Vampires are a creation scraped from the blackest, stickiest parts of the Id. A superior race with a tendency to fuck who they like? Vampires know what they like, fuck who they want, and chose to coexist with humans rather than stick them on a spit and suck. It's the perfect combination of sex, compassion, and (bet you saw this coming) rock n' roll.

And I just have one word: Lafayette. A black, MAC-slathered gay man smearing fabulous-ness all over Louisiana. If that's not empowerment, I don't know what the hell is.



So...I'm gonna leave my window open. And don my laciest garb. And pop some anti-coagulants. If any lady vamps are making time to read this, you know where to find me ;).