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Abstract
The first literary vampire can be traced back to 18th century Germany, with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s poem “Die Braut von Korinth,” but the stereotypical features of a vampire are traditionally accredited to Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Modern vampires, such as Edward Cullen and Stefan Salvatore of the Twilight and The Vampire Diaries series respectively, have managed to win the hearts of teenage girls all across America with their sex appeal and charismatic nature. According to Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, individuals learn new behaviors by modeling and imitating the actions of those around them. This comprehensive literature review investigates the connection between the human-vampire relationships in Twilight and The Vampire Diaries and teenage girls’ acceptance of dating violence and abusive behaviors from intimate partners. This study aims to examine how both Twilight and The Vampire Diaries create popular modern vampire narratives that may promote harmful messages to female youth regarding future romantic relationships. This analysis of peer-reviewed studies finds that harmful gender stereotypes and literary tropes are used on both female and male characters, the vampires exhibit manipulative and predatory behaviors, and the idea of true love overpowers the abusive behaviors of Edward and Stefan in the eyes of young girls, possibly creating a link between sex and violence. The findings of this study display a positive correlation between exposure to media violence and acceptance of dating violence among teenagers, as well as a positive correlation between exposure to sexually-oriented television and both the acceptance of the sexual double standard and earlier sexual timing expectations in relationships. New vampire media is still being produced, so it is important to understand what messages are being portrayed to teenage girls and how exactly these messages are altering their values regarding love in heterosexual relationships.
Publication Date
2025
Subject Major(s)
Media Studies; Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies
Keywords
dating violence, abuse, vampire, television, media, Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, young women, heterosexual relationships
Disciplines
Broadcast and Video Studies | Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence | Family, Life Course, and Society | Film Production | Gender and Sexuality | Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication | Other Film and Media Studies | Screenwriting | Visual Studies | Women's Studies
Current Academic Year
Sophomore
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Professor Mary Boyes
Rights
© The Author(s)
Included in
Broadcast and Video Studies Commons, Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Film Production Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Other Film and Media Studies Commons, Screenwriting Commons, Visual Studies Commons, Women's Studies Commons