Representation of gender and sexuality in The Vampire Diaries.

All vampires in The Vampire Diaries possess the same sort of powers so gender in vampirism isn’t as significant as it might be in other shows.

There is no major difference between the male and female vampires as they are all represented as strong and equal characters in terms of vampirism. However, when it comes to scenes showing social events i.e. parties, the girls still have the ‘sexy attitude’, vampire or not. So we see that even with the idea of immortality, women are still shown as used as ‘sex objects’.

The victims, humans the vampires feed on, of this TV show 90% of the time are women in their 20’s; Implying that young women are the weakest and the more acceptable target for a ‘drink’. The use of male victims is quite rare as the we normally see the male as the stronger character both physically and emotionally as opposed to women.

In the most recent season of The Vampire Diaries, one of the three main characters, who is a female, turns into a vampire. With this her emotions are heightened and sense of morality is weakened. As the main audience for the TV show are young females, the main character being a capable, attractive girl presents her as the perfect role model.

Throughout the narrative, there is only one gay character. Bill Forbes isn't a main or popular character which could be one of the reasons why he was the one chosen to be gay. This is because of the concept of ‘The male gaze’; the male audience would much rather see a male character who’s in charge and is the typical heroic muscly alpha-male surrounded by action. This makes them feel more confident and ensures them that that’s what men are supposed to be like. However, by having a gay male character, most men would feel offended as it’s going against their stereotype. Also, homosexuals are put at the bottom of the hierarchy for men as they go against all the traditional norms of a man.