Twilight: Representations of Gender and Sexuality in Vampire Tales For a long time, storytellers have used the blood-sucking undead to portray a sexual deviant. Wilson acknowledged that the vampire theme is first found as a popular reaction to Polidori's story in 1819 (579). The Twilight Saga, a romantic science fiction film adaptation of modern vampires, has grossed over $3.3 billion in worldwide sales, says Wikipedia (Par 1). The main element that grabs the audience's attention is the sexual tension between the two main characters; a tension that remains unresolved until the couple marries, near the end of the series. This was also the main reason why I devoured these five Twilight series in one week, just to find out where Bella and Edward's relationship will lead. Despite the enormous success of the novel and film, there is an underlying message of gender conformity in Twilight that makes me feel hesitant to give full support. In the film, Edward is strong and violent, saving the unsuspecting Bella from danger at every turn; meanwhile, Bella suffers from low self-esteem and apparently doesn't get along with her peer group, with the exception of Edward and his family. Through society's expectations of gender roles, Twilight perpetuates vampire stories while respecting stereotypical gender representations and the sexuality of today's vampire figure, portraying women as emotionally driven and men as domineering and controlling when it comes to romantic relationships. Vampire characters have existed in different genres of literature as a trope of sexuality, sometimes in the form of irresistible male vampires like Dracula who seduce women with their gaze and prey on them. While vampires have not always been depicted... middle of paper... they feed on animals rather than prey on humans. Some may argue that Meyer ruined vampires by glorifying them as soulful superhumans like a fallen angel and removing their horrendous nature of being pure evil. When we look at the history of vampire myths, the portrayal of vampires transforms based on contemporary anxieties about diseases, natural phenomena and human emotions that, however, we cannot control. There's no denying the enormous popularity and notable pop culture influences that Twilight has achieved, but one might have hoped to see an evolved adaptation of gender representations to modern times in the new vampire story. While we love romantic mystery fiction about supernatural immortals like Twilight, it's important not to lose a critical eye and question the underlying messages analytically..