Sexy Curses (Pt. 5)

Americans love individualism. It shows in much of our economic policy, education system, and, most notably, pop culture. We obsess over superstars. Our athletes, singers, and actors get massive paychecks, and magazines are dedicated to their every move. Even before the modern tabloids, we had our ultimate individuals in Western films. The cowboy comes from some unknown town, with a dark past and no family, to exorcise his demons.

In American culture, we romanticize the outsider. The tall, dark, mysterious, and powerful figure. Men want to be him and women want to be with him. So our vampires aren’t cursed, they’re blessed. The traits that account for suffering in the old symbol of the vampire are the same qualities that make the modern vampire a sex icon...