Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Álvaro Navarro Similarities between vampirism/parasitism symbology and the gay world practices. The creation of a new monstrous category. Álvaro Navarro Traducción a partir de la página 15. Page 1 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Álvaro Navarro VAMPIRISM AS SYMBOL OF QUEER PRACTICE We now live in an era of communication -the modern world for Marx is peopled with the undead; a world haunted by specters and ruled by the mystical nature of capital1 - in which mainstream media can be ignored (figure 1), ideas can be disseminated with incredible speed, and global networks can be formed overnight. Modernity has heralded a new, more fluid notion of the self in which one’s identity (figure 2) and life-style must be achieved in order to be meaningful. In this way, different communities have emerged from these conditions and are adapted to them2. Queer, as a community, is the origin in some way of a vehicle through which difference of all kinds might conveniently be mobilised. In a sense, queer theories refuse to be exclusively queer in the sexual sense, and its queerness is the main function to demonstrate the relationship between the marginal and the mainstream, between queerness and non-queerness3 . The gay vampire exists, within the heteronormative human world (figure 3), but is ultimately not committed to it. With the rejection of promiscuity from heterosexual comes the promise of homosexual integrity, of a decline that has been stopped at a late moment. Therefore, the essential self of the species may no longer be diluted4 and may clarify the sexual nonconformity issues5. But this promiscuous queer community that engages to lead to madness, death and social ostracism is what I’m going to study in this essay, as well as the unleashing connections between vampirism/parasitism -concepts associated to monsters and horror genre- and some of the practices that nowadays gay world might develop; some practices as chem sex6 (figure 4) can ‘’disturb’’ your mental health -it takes you to other decadent atmospheres, castles and dungeons- and transform you in a paranoid vampire. Parasitism, specially with regards to the vampire, represents a pathological sexuality, non-reproductive sexuality, a sexuality that exhausts, wastes and exists outside of the marriage contract7 . It also adds an economic value to sexuality, one is always draining and the other is always dried. Because the community is united by a shared identity, it resembles an ascriptive identity group based on race or sexual preferences. However, being a gay vampire is an identity that is not yet fully recognized by mainstream culture. In this way, the vampire community resembles the transgendered community. Mainstream culture has been critical of the claims of both identity groups, and both vampires and transgendered people have been characterized as mentally ill. By contrast, there is no authority to assert a definition of vampirism, so the community defines itself through a continuous reflexive process8 . As we’ll see, the vampires spend most of their time fighting aimlessly, hanging out in trees (what can be seen as cruising9 (figure 5 and 6)), and playing sadistic mind-games with each other. Halberstam, Judith. (1995). Skin Shows. Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters. London: Duke University Press. p.102 1 2 Laycock, Joseph. (2009). Vampires today: the truth about modern vampirism. Westport, Conn. ; Praeger. p.162 3 Hughes, William; Smith, Andrew. (2009). Queering the Gothic. Manchester : Manchester University Press, p.4 4 Hughes, W; Smith, A. (2009). Queering the Gothic. p.152 5 Hughes, W; Smith, A. (2009). Queering the Gothic. p.51 chemsex: is a term commonly used by Gay men and Men who have sex with Men (MSM) to describe the use of certain drugs in a sexual context. It is a very specific form of drug use and is defined by the use of three drugs ('chems'): Methamphetamine (Crystal/Crystal Meth/Tina/Meth). 6 7 Halberstam, J. (1995). Skin Shows. Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters. p.17 8 Laycock, J. (2009). Vampires today: the truth about modern vampirism. pp.164-166 cruising: a way for gay men to solicit sexual encounters while minimizing the risk of being caught by the police. When cruising first became known, it usually took place in public fields, parks, toilets (or "cottages" as they would become known as in the 20th century). 9 Page 2 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Álvaro Navarro The reason why I find a connection is supported by some evidences and facts, as the narcissism of the gay culture and the vampiric ‘’mirror-hungry personality’’10 -when someone is not able to attract sufficient attention to maintain a sense of self, he or she initiates a ‘’grandiose retreat’’, isolating him or herself to shore up the self-image (figure 7)-. Relationship between the victim, the appetites of the vampire and his image on the mirror Let’s begin with Coppola’s Interview with the vampire (1994). ‘’Real’’ vampirism (figure 8) can be understood as a technology of the self11 in two ways: firstly, the vampire must find a way to feed sanguinarian or psychic- so they must weigh their feeding methods against their own sense of ethics. The life of a vampire seems (s)exhausting (figure 9) -like a perpetual combination of hunger, affective lack and relationships based in short time pleasure all at once, what we can identify as No-Strings-Attached fun (NSA)-. Secondly, the identity as a vampire constantly acquires new and subtler layers of meaning. After discovering your vampire identity, the individual must discover his or her feeling typology: sanguinarian, psychic, or hybrid12 -as the gay individual must discover his top, bottom or versatile preference in relation to his sexual preferences. If we think in the different sexual positions, we can actually find a parallel: the hybrid enjoys everything, drains everything; the sanguinarian always need to introduce the teeth in a surface and make a hole, and the psychic swallows energy from the others. According to J. Gordon Melton in his work The Vampire Book as cited by Joseph Laycock (2009) other symptoms associated to parasitic/vampiric activities include antisocial activity, pathological lying, and being ‘’hypocondriacally preoccupied with bodily states’’. Due to their deep-felt lack of worth and self-esteem these persons have a compulsive need to evoke the attention and energy of others. Far from the image we have of vampires, in Jean Rollin’s Requiem for a Vampire (1971) they are weak and pale creatures without normal people; they need our admiration and passion more than we in the end really need them. They are images (figure 10) -even when they can not see themselves, but if they could, they might hysterically start screaming (figure 11)-; we are flesh and blood (figure 12). Related to this contrast between the hunter and the victim, if we think about Narcissus13 (figure 13), he comes to figure as an emblem of monstrous instability; he occupies both sides of those familiar binaries which structures our culture: self/other, active/passive, masculine/feminine, soul/body, inside/outside, surface/depth, sanity/psychosis. 10 Laycock, J. (2009). Vampires today: the truth about modern vampirism. p.27 11 Halberstam, J. (1995). Skin Shows. Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters. p.94 12 V Laycock, J. (2009). Vampires today: the truth about modern vampirism. p.31 13 Hughes, W; Smith, A. (2009). Queering the Gothic. p.182 Page 3 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Álvaro Navarro The vampire sickness: AIDS, HIV and other sickness that is transmitted by a sexual(ized) body The mirror which Narcissus ‘’embodies’' in the guise of art (Cathode Narcissus (figure 14)) thus represents what a heteronormative culture need to abject: fear of death which is symptomatically ‘othered’ or disdained as part of the AIDS crisis in the 80s (figure 15). The AIDS epidemic (HIV, syphilis…) widely publicized by the early 80s14, infected the decade’s and new rules sprang up among vampires: they became susceptible to destruction, they could be infected. Vampirism mutated from hideous appetite to nausea and it turned those with immortality (figure 16 and 17) -looked like a heavenly dream of young men- to mortals. Nowadays, many gays (specially in the UK and from North Europe) are using PreP15 so they are ‘’protected’’ to HIV, although they are exposed to other STDs. A vampire assumes the danger of being infected because of his immortality and don’t assume he is in some way allergic to the too sexed -Buffalo Bill’s skin and its relation to BareBack- warm human blood they need to live. Anyway, the AIDS crisis is well rooted in the collective mind and the fear to the foreigner can be seen in Albert Lewin’s and Oliver’s Parker The picture of Dorian Gray (1945 and 2009 respectively) in which Gray’s vampiric homosexuality has been read as an distinctive narcissism. However, it might better be understood as as particular form of monstrosity that depends upon the close structure of hidden homoerotic desire. Eve Sedgwick has noted that homosexuality is full of secrets, and that unlawful desires are euphemisms -the secret and sexuality are forever linked, of course-. The fact of ‘unspeakable’16 is one of the most famous code words and distinctive tropes for sex between men. For the modern vampires, therefore, the desire to consume blood -or bodies- escalates from the need to seek not simply another meal, but a temporary accommodation to absorb another being into a sustaining companionship: making a meal of a mate and a mate of a meal (more and more users are signing up in Grindr accounts and different apps (figure 18) looking for new mates and new meals). It admits to an element of choice, and, indeed, the assertion of a certain discretion -most of those users are only into heterosexual looking users who may or may not be admitted by them17 -. This is, it might be argued, the common heterosexist disdain for the promiscuous gay, and the equally promiscuous vampire. 14 Auerbach, Nina. (1995). Our vampires, ourselves. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. p.175 Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is the use of drugs to prevent disease in people who have not yet been exposed to the disease-causing agent. The term typically refers to the use of antiviral drugs as a strategy for the prevention of HIV/ AIDS. 15 16 Hughes, W; Smith, A. (2009). Queering the Gothic. p.43 17 Haggerty, George. E (2006). Queer Gothic. p.144 Page 4 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Álvaro Navarro Vampirismo, ¿una sociedad aristocrática con serios problemas de identidad sexual, reflejada, ante el espejo? Furthermore, a set of behaviours that earlier in the century had characterized the corruption of the aristocracy (figure 19 and 20), -like effeminacy, sensuality, love of art, uselessness, pallid complexion18 now seem to stereotype homosexual behaviour -paleness in particular thanks to the birth of different clubs like Berghain-. A club, said to have the hardest door in Berlin, operates a strict no pictures-policy19 -the vampires don’t appear in pictures- and is known for its gay sex parties, with no entrance of the sun and anything from outside. The vampire is invited and never goes out from there. While aristocrats were denigrated as parasites (figure 21) -they produced nothing and did nothing ‘’useful’’homosexuals were seen as nonproductive, fruitless, given over to the reproduction of art not life. This connection can also give us one of the reasons why gay collectives are vampires -while compromised heterosexual couples spend time in the production of children, homosexual temporal unions invest in clubbing and enjoyment-. The vampire is not only homosexual, lesbian or heterosexual; the vampire represents the productions of sexuality itself -a non-reproductive sexuality but anal aggressive (figure 22)-. The vampire, after all, creates more vampires by engaging in a sexual relation with his victims, who share his specific sexual predilections. Vampires are thought to be perverse, insane and embodying multiple figures because they can transform pure and virginal (wo)men into seductresses (figure 23); the vampire produces sexuality through their willing bodies. That’s the reason why vampiric sexuality blends power and femininity within the same body and then marks that body as distinctly alienated. Like Andres Serrano’s work (figure 24), the bodies for vampires are flesh and blood; but the blood is what they are interested in, as it circulates throughout vampiric sexuality as a substitute for other bodily fluids (milk, semen). Once again the vampire does not circulate his capital (or fluids), he only takes and never gives. The tooth, the vampire’s main tool (figure 25), represents the last fragment of the presence of a fanged and drained human male body. It represents identity (including the ‘’dent’’-ure within i-dent-ity) but perverse identity and the loss of anything like humanness20 . Vampiric perversion have been seen as psychopathic, and those demonic creatures are full of ‘’otherness’’ , so the equation of vampirism with insanity (figure 26) implies an essential connection between progressive degeneracy and hereditary perversion (maybe inherited from aristocratic/parasitic ancestors). If we think about vampires as (un)deads, then, we should think in about those sexual aberrations such as incest, bestiality and necrophilia (figure 27), under the general category of sodomy21. The anal aggressive penetration as biting is associated with weapons -in practices such as fisting (figures 28 and 29)- and not with penises -phallic is not the first clue/proof of identity, it’s the hole instead-. Buggery and violating sexuality finally figures as one particular form of sexual immorality; one is always killed and buried (figure 30). The idea of the ‘living’ burial: the possibility of the one buried within the other and penetration. They also bury themselves in the coffins everyday for resting?… ‘’Living’’ burial seen as parasitism, then, becomes a tooth buried in an exposed neck for the explicit purpose of blood sucking or a monstrous Hyde hidden within the very flesh of Jekyll. ‘’Living’’ burial is the entanglement of self and other within monstrosity and the parasitical relationship between the two. The one is always buried -or penetrated- in the other. Apart from they dayside dead life -hangover-, gay vampires spend hours every night looking for a sporadic relationship22 . Like the cultural construction of queer desire, the Monster is perceived to be ‘out there’23, displaced away from the normal world, when everyone is sleeping-, and there, vampirism is categorized as a ‘nomadic’ nightside lifestyle. 18 Halberstam, J. (1995). Skin Shows. Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters. pp.65-66 Gerdes, Stefanie. (1 November 2016). A straight guy accidentally ended up in one of Berlin's filthiest gay clubs. Gaystarnews. [Online] https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/straight-guy-berghain-review/#gs.aXicP2RT 19 20 Halberstam, J. (1995). Skin Shows. Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters. pp.149-150 21 Haggerty, George. E (2006). Queer Gothic. pp.46-47 22 Haggerty, George. E (2006). Queer Gothic. p.147 23 Halberstam, J. (1995). Skin Shows. Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters. p.48 Page 5 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Álvaro Navarro Count Dracula, of course, has no home and wants no home; he carries his coffins (permanently resting place) with him to populated areas. The coffin has now become as shameful safe place -for those who hunt straight looking in gay apps- as the closet. Paradoxically, home, with its connotations of marriage, monogamy, and community, is precisely why Dracula is in exile from and precisely what would and does kill him in the end. In McNamara’s song Dracula (1993), we can listen the words of a vampire who does not need a place to accommodate tenants and spread his sickness, he is an empowered single housewife who does not pay the rent, does not live in a property nor a coffin-closet, s/he is proud of his Trans-ylvania nationality country (figures 31 y 32). All last similarities and parallels evidence the fact that the vampire is the product of the transformation of identity into sexual identity through the mechanism of failed repression24 . This can be read in Joseph Laycock’s (2009) The vampires today (p.11): Rose has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and has vampiric attitudes due to some traumas she experienced. In terms of gay community, lots of men have experienced bullying and aggression that could have marked their lives. Those ‘mentally ill’ suffer mainly from reminiscences as history, personal and social, haunts hysteric and the repressed always takes on an uncanny life of its own25. Foreignness is repressed into the depths of an unconscious, a kind of forgotten memories, and it rises to the surface as a Beetle-juicy (figure 33) sexual disturbance, a disturbed repressed’s sexuality (figure 34). 24 Halberstam, J. (1995). Skin Shows. Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters. p.9 25 Halberstam, J. (1995). Skin Shows. Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters. pp.19-21 Page 6 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Álvaro Navarro Figure 1. Figure 2. Stranger Things cover. Interview with Sandy Stone. Issue #8. Sandy Stone. (1985). Netflix. [Online] https:// www.netflix.com/watch/80077368? trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C1%2C c32a5cc230f229a925febcf64781200 ffe396a2a%3A5f94965c407866e57f9f 11e3ba9414d28e27e355%2C%2C [accessed 10 December 2018] Figure 3. Vladimir Putin’s party straight pride flag. [Online] https:// sandystone.com/interviews/ stone-transisters-interview.pdf [accessed 12 December 2018] Figure 4. Shot from Party Monster.. Sascha Bailey, Randy Barbato (2003). Gorton, T. (10 July 2015) Dazed and Confused. [Online] http:// www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/ article/25428/1/vladimir-putin-s-partyreleases-straight-pride-flag [accessed 10 December 2018] Page 7 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Figure 5. jerking off in car while older man watches Spycock. [Online] https:// www.spycock.com/videos/2029/jerkingoff-in-car-while-older-manwatches.html? utm_source=spy&utm_medium=spy&ut m_campaign=spy [accessed 13 December 2018] Álvaro Navarro Figure 6. Cruising series. Alejandría Cinque (2018). [Online] https://www.instagram.com/ alejandria.cinque/ [accessed 13 December 2018] Figure 7. Self isolating. Figure 8. Miss American Vampire. Le_dauphin (2018). [Online] https://www.instagram.com/le__dauphin/ [accessed 2 January 2019] Le_dauphin (2018). [Online] https:// www.instagram.com/ le__dauphin/ [accessed 2 January 2019] Page 8 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Álvaro Navarro Figure 10. Figure 9. Sexual fetishism. Blood for Dracula VHS Andy Warhol (1974) Le_dauphin (2018). [Online] https://www.instagram.com/le__dauphin/ [accessed 2 January 2019] Figure 11. Shot from Kika (Rossy de Palma and Veronica Forqué). Almodovar (1993). Figure 12. Marilyn was bitten by a vampire newspaper. [Online] https://murtuusinanima.wordpress.com/ 2013/07/08/marilyn-monroe-fue-vampiro/ [accessed 2 January 2019]. Figure 13. Narciso y su espejo. Leoadef. (2018). [Online] https:// www.instagram.com/leoadef/ [accessed 13 december 2018] Page 9 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Figure 14. Dorian 2012 production: Cathode Narcissus Tor Richards. (2014). [Online] https:// vimeo.com/70599856 [accessed 13 december 2018] Álvaro Navarro Figure 15. What are some of the ways you’ve died? Le_dauphin (2018). [Online] https://www.instagram.com/ le__dauphin/ [accessed 2 January 2019] Figure 16. Figure 17. Silence Equals Death, Washington, D.C. Dominick and Elliot. Rosalind Solomon (1987-1990), gelatin silver print, 20” × 16. [Online] https://www.positivelyaware.com/articles/ effect-aids-american-art [accessed 2 January 2019] Robert Mapplethorpe (1979). Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. [Online] http://www.mapplethorpe.org [accessed 2 January 2019] Page 10 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Álvaro Navarro Figure 18. Figure 19. Screenshots from Grindr app. Untitled #195 Cindy Sherman (1985). Dazed and confused [Online]: http:// www.dazeddigital.com/science-tech/article/ 40235/1/grindr-is-working-to-help-usersidentify-sti-risks-with-hookups London : Thames and Hudson, 1997. Cindy Sherman : retrospective Figure 20. Shot from Scooby-Doo Show. Episode 1x01: High Rise Hair Raiser. Figure 21. Scooby Doo 1969 [Online]: https:// scoobydoo1969.blogspot.com/2015/03/el-show-descooby-doo-escalofrios-en-la.html [accessed 2 January 2019] David Cronenberg’s (1976) They Came from Within Nora Johnson victim of the parasites Page 11 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Figure 22. Vampire’s mouth anal hole. Benaissa Majeri (2018). [Online] https:// www.instagram.com/flirty.lollypop33/ [accessed 2 January 2019] Figure 24. Álvaro Navarro Figure 23. Elvira, Mistress of the Darkness: Death by fur. Le_dauphin (2018). [Online] https:// www.instagram.com/le__dauphin/ [accessed 2 January 2019] Semen and blood III. Figure 25. The vampire’s smile. Andrés Serrano. (1990). [Online] https://theartstack.com/ artist/andres-serrano/semen-and-blood-iii [accessed 4 January 2019] Le_dauphin (2018). [Online] https://www.instagram.com/ le__dauphin/ [accessed 2 January 2019] Page 12 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Figure 26. Shot from Scooby Doo. Episode 2x02: Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats. Scooby Doo 1969 [Online] https:// scoobydoo1969.blogspot.com/2015/08/el-show-descooby-doo-entre-vampiros-te.html [accessed 2 January 2019] Álvaro Navarro Figure 27. Anna Nicole Smith and the husband (1995) Le_dauphin (2018). [Online] https:// www.instagram.com/le__dauphin/ [accessed 2 January 2019] Figure 28. Figure 29. Different screenshots from xtube.com Different screenshots from Texas Chainsaw Massacre II (1986) and III (1990). Leatherface and his weapons. Axel_abysse (2018) [Online] https://www.xtube.com/videowatch/carnage-iii-with-trent-bloom-preview-38022061? utm_campaign=hubtraffic_tubegals [accessed 2 January 2019] Page 13 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Figure 30. Live burial man. Thehomosensual (2018). [Online] https:// www.instagram.com/thehomosensual/ [accessed 2 January 2019] Álvaro Navarro Figure 31. Vampiric Marilyn in McNamara’s song [Online] https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=Z5tELIBmCLg [accessed 2 January 2019]. Figure 32. Figure 33. Rocky Horror Picture Show Shot from Beetlejuice (1988). Le_dauphin (2018). [Online] https:// www.instagram.com/le__dauphin/ [accessed 2 January 2019] Directed by Tim Burton. United States: Warner Bros. Figure 34. Mangiaco (2018). [Online] https://www.instagram.com/ mangianco/ [accessed 2 January 2019] Page 14 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Álvaro Navarro TRADUCCIÓN VAMPIRISMO COMO SÍMBOLO DE LA PRÁCTICA DE QUEER Con la llegada de los nuevos medios y por tanto el surgimiento de la era de la comunicación, es necesario hacer una consulta sobre la idea del vampirismo y por tanto la imagen del vampiro. El mundo moderno para Marx está poblado de no-muertos; un mundo atormentado por espectros y regido por la naturaleza mística del capital, en el que los medios de comunicación tradicionales pueden ignorarse (figura 1), las ideas pueden difundirse con una velocidad increíble y las redes globales pueden formarse de la noche a la mañana. La modernidad ha anunciado una nueva y más fluida noción del individuo mismo en la que se debe lograr la identidad (figura 2) y el estilo de vida para que sea significativo. De esta manera, diferentes comunidades han emergido de estas condiciones y se han adaptado a ellas. Queer, como comunidad, es el origen de algún modo de un vehículo a través del cual se pueden movilizar convenientemente las diferencias de todo tipo. En cierto sentido, las teorías queer se niegan a ser exclusivamente queer en el sentido sexual, y su seriedad es la función principal para demostrar la relación entre lo marginal y lo principal, entre lo que es y lo que no lo es. Pero esta comunidad promiscua queer que se compromete a conducir a la locura, la muerte y el ostracismo social es lo que voy a estudiar en este ensayo, así como las conexiones desencadenantes entre el vampirismo y el parasitismo (conceptos asociados con los monstruos y el género de terror) y algunos de ellos. las prácticas que hoy en día podría desarrollar el mundo gay; Algunas prácticas como el sexo químico (figura 4) pueden "perturbar" tu salud mental (te lleva a otras atmósferas decadentes, castillos y mazmorras) y te transforman en un vampiro paranoico. La idea del vampiro gay existe, dentro del mundo humano heteronormativo (figura 3), pero en última instancia no está comprometido con él. Con el rechazo a la promiscuidad de los heterosexuales, viene la promesa de integridad homosexual, de una disminución que se ha detenido en un momento tardío. Por lo tanto, el yo esencial ya no puede estar diluido y puede aclarar los problemas de la no conformidad sexual. La mera idea de vampirismo va unida a la de parasitismo, y representa una sexualidad patológica, una sexualidad no reproductiva, una sexualidad que agota, desperdicia y existe fuera del contrato matrimonial. También agrega un valor económico a la sexualidad, uno que siempre chupa, y obtiene y el otro siempre está seco, pierde. Debido a que la comunidad está unida por una identidad compartida, se asemeja a un grupo de identidad adscrito basado en la raza o las preferencias sexuales. Sin embargo, ser un vampiro gay es una identidad que aún no está plenamente reconocida por la cultura general. De esta manera, la comunidad de vampiros se parece a la comunidad transgénero. La cultura dominante ha criticado los reclamos de ambos grupos de identidad, y tanto los vampiros como las personas transgénero se han caracterizado como enfermos mentales. En contraste, no hay autoridad para afirmar una definición de vampirismo, por lo que la comunidad se define a sí misma a través de un proceso reflexivo continuo. Como veremos, los vampiros pasan la mayor parte de su tiempo luchando sin rumbo, colgando en los árboles (lo que se puede ver como cruzar (figura 5 y 6)), y jugando juegos mentales sádicos entre sí. La razón por la que encuentro una conexión se apoya en algunas evidencias y hechos, como el narcisismo de la cultura gay y la "personalidad hambrienta de espejo" vampírica, cuando alguien no es capaz de atraer la atención suficiente para mantener un sentido de sí mismo. él o ella inicia un "retiro grandioso", aislándose para apuntalar la autoimagen (figura 7) -. Page 15 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Álvaro Navarro Relación entre el alimento, la apetencia del vampiro y su imagen respecto al espejo Comencemos con la Entrevista de Coppola con el vampiro (1994). El vampirismo "real" (figura 8) se puede entender como una tecnología del yo de dos maneras: en primer lugar, el vampiro debe encontrar una forma de alimentar, ya sea un psiquiatra o un psíquico, por lo que debe comparar sus métodos de alimentación con su propio sentido de ética. La vida de un vampiro parece agotadora (figura 9), como una combinación perpetua de hambre, falta afectiva y relaciones basadas en el placer de corto tiempo, todo lo que podemos identificar como diversión sin ataduras (NSA). En segundo lugar, la identidad como vampiro adquiere constantemente nuevas y más sutiles capas de significado. Después de descubrir su identidad de vampiro, el individuo debe descubrir su tipología de sentimientos: sanguinario, psíquico o híbrido, como el individuo gay debe descubrir su preferencia superior, inferior o versátil en relación con sus preferencias sexuales. Si pensamos en las diferentes posiciones sexuales, podemos encontrar un paralelo: el híbrido disfruta de todo, drena todo; El sanguinario siempre necesita introducir los dientes en una superficie y hacer un agujero, y el psíquico traga energía de los demás. Según J. Gordon Melton en su trabajo The Vampire Book, citado por Joseph Laycock (2009), otros síntomas asociados a las actividades parasíticas / vampíricas incluyen actividad antisocial, mentira patológica y estar "hipocondríticamente preocupado por los estados corporales". Debido a su profunda falta de valor y autoestima, estas personas tienen una necesidad compulsiva de evocar la atención y la energía de los demás. Lejos de la imagen que tenemos de vampiros, en Requiem for a Vampire (1971) de Jean Rollin son criaturas débiles y pálidas sin gente normal; Necesitan nuestra admiración y pasión más de lo que nosotros realmente los necesitamos. Son imágenes (figura 10), incluso cuando no pueden verse a sí mismas, pero si pudieran, podrían comenzar a gritar histéricamente (figura 11) -; Somos carne y hueso (figura 12). Relacionado con este contraste entre el cazador y la víctima, si pensamos en Narciso (figura 13), aparece como un emblema de inestabilidad monstruosa; ocupa ambos lados de los binarios familiares que estructuran nuestra cultura: uno mismo / otro, activo / pasivo, masculino / femenino, alma / cuerpo, interior / exterior, superficie / profundidad, cordura / psicosis. El espejo que Narciso "encarna" en forma de arte (Cathode Narcissus (figura 14)) representa así lo que una cultura heteronormativa debe abyectar: el miedo a la muerte que es sintomáticamente "otrora" o desdeñado como parte de la crisis del SIDA en Los años 80 (figura 15). La enfermedad del vampiro: SIDA (AIDS), VIH y demás enfermedades de transmisión sexual La epidemia de SIDA (VIH, sífilis ...) se difundió ampliamente a principios de los años 80, infectó la década y surgieron nuevas reglas entre los vampiros: se volvieron susceptibles a la destrucción, podrían infectarse. El vampirismo transforma el apetito en náusea y convirtió a los que tenían inmortalidad (figura 16 y 17), que parecía un sueño celestial de hombres jóvenes, a mortales. Hoy en día, muchos homosexuales (especialmente en el Reino Unido y en el norte de Europa) están utilizando PreP, por lo que están "protegidos" contra el VIH, aunque están expuestos a otras ETS. Un vampiro asume el peligro de ser infectado debido a su inmortalidad y no asume que de alguna manera es alérgico a la piel de Buffalo Bill demasiado sexuada y su relación con BareBack, sangre humana cálida que necesitan para vivir. De todos modos, la crisis del SIDA está bien arraigada en la mente colectiva y el miedo al extranjero se puede ver en Albert Lewin y Oliver's Parker. La imagen de Dorian Gray (1945 y 2009 respectivamente) en la que la homosexualidad vampírica de Gray se ha leído como un narcisismo distintivo. . Sin embargo, podría entenderse mejor como una forma particular de monstruosidad que depende de la estructura estrecha del deseo homoerótico oculto. Eve Sedgwick ha notado que la homosexualidad está llena de secretos y que los deseos ilegales son eufemismos (el secreto y la sexualidad están siempre vinculados, por supuesto). El hecho de "indecible" es una de las palabras clave más famosas y los tropos distintivos para el sexo entre hombres. Por lo tanto, para los vampiros modernos, el deseo de consumir sangre -o cuerpos- se debe a la necesidad de buscar no solo otra comida, sino una acomodación temporal para absorber a otro ser en una compañía de sostén: hacer una comida de un compañero y un compañero de una comida (cada vez más usuarios se registran en cuentas de Grindr y diferentes aplicaciones (figura 18) en busca de nuevos compañeros y nuevas comidas). Admite un elemento de elección y, de hecho, la afirmación de una cierta discreción (la mayoría de esos usuarios solo son usuarios heterosexuales que pueden o no ser admitidos por ellos). Esto es, podría argumentarse, el desdén heterosexista común para el gay promiscuo y el vampiro igualmente promiscuo. Page 16 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Álvaro Navarro Vampirismo, ¿una sociedad aristocrática con serios problemas de identidad sexual, reflejada, ante el espejo? Además, un conjunto de conductas que a principios de siglo caracterizaron la corrupción de la aristocracia (figuras 19 y 20), como afeminación, sensualidad, amor por el arte, inutilidad y tez pálida, ahora parecen estereotipar el comportamiento homosexual, la bondad en particular. Gracias al nacimiento de diferentes clubes como Berghain-. Un club, que se dice que tiene la puerta más difícil en Berlín, opera una estricta política de no fotografiar (los vampiros no aparecen en las fotografías) y es conocido por sus fiestas sexuales homosexuales, sin entrada del sol y nada del exterior. El vampiro está invitado y nunca sale de allí. Mientras que los aristócratas eran denigrados como parásitos (figura 21), ellos no producían nada y no hacían nada "útil"; los homosexuales eran vistos como no productivos, infructuosos, entregados a la reproducción del arte y no de la vida. Esta conexión también puede darnos una de las razones por las que los colectivos homosexuales son vampiros, mientras que las parejas heterosexuales comprometidas pasan tiempo en la producción de niños, las uniones temporales homosexuales invierten en clubes y en el disfrute. El vampiro no es solo homosexual, lesbiano o heterosexual; El vampiro representa las producciones de la sexualidad en sí, una sexualidad no reproductiva pero analmente agresiva (figura 22). El vampiro, después de todo, crea más vampiros al entablar una relación sexual con sus víctimas, que comparten sus preferencias sexuales específicas. Se piensa que los vampiros son perversos, locos y que representan múltiples figuras porque pueden transformar a hombres puros y vírgenes en mujeres seductoras (figura 23); El vampiro produce la sexualidad a través de sus cuerpos dispuestos. Esa es la razón por la cual la sexualidad vampírica combina el poder y la feminidad dentro del mismo cuerpo y luego marca ese cuerpo como claramente alienado. Al igual que el trabajo de Andrés Serrano (figura 24), los cuerpos de los vampiros son de carne y hueso; pero la sangre es lo que les interesa, ya que circula a través de la sexualidad vampírica como un sustituto de otros fluidos corporales (leche, semen). Una vez más el vampiro no hace circular su capital (o fluidos), solo toma y nunca da. El diente, la herramienta principal del vampiro (figura 25), representa el último fragmento de la presencia de un cuerpo masculino colmillo y drenado. Representa la identidad (incluida ‘dent’ dentro de ‘i-dent-idad’) pero la identidad perversa y la pérdida de cualquier cosa como la humanidad. La perversión vampírica ha sido considerada como psicopática, y esas criaturas demoníacas están llenas de "otredad", por lo que la ecuación de vampirismo con locura (figura 26) implica una conexión esencial entre la degeneración progresiva y la perversión hereditaria (tal vez heredada de antecesores aristocráticos / parasíticos ). Si pensamos en los vampiros como (des)-muertos, entonces, deberíamos pensar en esas aberraciones sexuales como el incesto, la bestialidad y la necrofilia (figura 27). La penetración anal agresiva como morder se asocia con armas, en prácticas como el fisting (figuras 28 y 29), y no con penes, el fálico no es la primera pista / prueba de identidad, sino el agujero. La conducta abusiva y la violación de la sexualidad finalmente figuran como una forma particular de inmoralidad sexual; uno siempre es matado y enterrado (figura 30). Page 17 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Álvaro Navarro La idea del enterrado vivo; la posibilidad de el entierro de uno dentro de otro y la penetración. ¿También se entierran en los ataúdes todos los días para descansar? ... El entierro '' en vida’’ visto como parasitismo, luego, se convierte en un diente enterrado en un cuello expuesto con el propósito explícito de chupar la sangre o un Hyde monstruoso escondido en la carne de Jekyll. . El "entierro" viviente es el enredo del yo y el otro dentro de la monstruosidad y la relación parasitaria entre los dos. El uno siempre está enterrado -o penetrado- en el otro. Aparte de la vida muerta de un día, el vampiro gay pasa horas todas las noches buscando una relación esporádica. Al igual que la construcción cultural del deseo queer, el Monstruo se percibe como "allá afuera", desplazado lejos del mundo normal, cuando todos duermen, y allí, el vampirismo se clasifica como un estilo de vida "nocturno" nómada. El conde Drácula, por supuesto, no tiene hogar y no quiere hogar; él lleva sus ataúdes (lugar de descanso permanente) con él a las áreas pobladas. El ataúd ahora se ha convertido en un lugar vergonzoso y seguro, para aquellos que cazan directamente en las aplicaciones gay, como el armario. Paradójicamente, el hogar, con sus connotaciones de matrimonio, monogamia y comunidad, es precisamente la razón por la que Drácula está en el exilio y precisamente lo que lo mataría y lo matará al final. En la canción de McNamara Drácula (1993), podemos escuchar las palabras de un vampiro que no necesita un lugar para acomodar a los inquilinos y propagar su enfermedad, es un ama de casa soltera que no paga la renta, no vive en una propiedad ni Un ataúd, está orgulloso de su país de nacionalidad Trans-ylvania (figuras 31 y 32). Todas las últimas similitudes y paralelismos evidencian el hecho de que el vampiro es el producto de la transformación de la identidad en identidad sexual a través del mecanismo de represión fallida. Esto se puede leer en Joseph Laycock (2009) The vampires today (p.11): A Rose le han diagnosticado esquizofrenia y tiene actitudes vampíricas debido a algunos traumas que experimentó. En términos de comunidad gay, muchos hombres han experimentado acoso y agresión que podrían haber marcado sus vidas. Los 'enfermos mentales' sufren principalmente de reminiscencias como la historia, lo personal y lo social, atormentan a los histéricos y los reprimidos siempre adquieren una vida extraña. La extrañeza se reprime en las profundidades de un inconsciente, una especie de recuerdos olvidados, y se eleva a la superficie como una perturbación sexual de Beetle-juicy (figura 33), una sexualidad perturbada y reprimida (figura 34). Page 18 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Álvaro Navarro BIBLIOGRAPHY Books -Auerbach, Nina. (1995). Our vampires, ourselves. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. -Beresford, Matthew. (2008). From Demons to Dracula. The Creation of Modern Vampire Myth.Chippenham, Wiltshire: CPI Antony Rowe. -Blessing, Jennifer; Halberstam, Judith (1997). Rrose is a rrose is a rrose: gender performance in photography. New York: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. -Clover, Carol. (1992). Men, Women and Chain saws: gender in the modern horror film. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press -Conrich, Ian. (2010). Horror Zone. Chippenham: CPI Antony Rowe. -Dollimore, Jonathan. (1991). Sexual Dissidence. Augustine to Wilde. Freud to Foucault. New York: Oxford University Press. -Dunn-Mascetti. (1992). Anatomy of the vampire. The complete guide to the world of the undead. London: Aurum Press Limited. -Frank, Alan (1982). The Horror film hand book. Totowa, New Jersey: Barnes & Noble Books. -Freeland, Cynthia A. (2000). The naked and the undead. Evil and the appeal of Horror. Thinking through cinema. Colorado and United Kingdom: Westview Press. -Gelder, Ken. (1994). Reading the vampire. London: Routledge. -Haggerty, George E. (2006). Queer Gothic. United States of America: Library of Congress. Judith. (1995). Skin Shows. Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters. Durham and London: Duke University Press. -Halberstam, -Hogan, David J. (1986). Dark Romance. Sexuality in the Horror Film. Manufacturated in United States of America: McFarland & Company, Inc. -Hughes, William; Smith, Andrew. (2009). Queering the Gothic. Manchester : Manchester University Press Kelly. (1996) The Gothic body. Sexuality, Materialism, and Degeneration at the Fin de Siècle. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press -Hurley, -Jancovich, Mark. (2002) Horror, the film reader. London and New York: Routledge. Taylor & Francis Group. -Jones, Darryl. (2002). Horror film. A Thematic History in Fiction and Film. Bodmin, Cornwall: Hodder Hedline Group, MPG Books. -Laycock, Joseph. (2009). Vampires today: the truth about modern vampirism. Westport, Conn. ; Praeger. Page 19 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Álvaro Navarro -Norfleet, Barbara P. (1993). Looking at death. Boston, Massachusetts: David R. Godine. -Skal, David J. (1993). Monster show: A cultural history of Horror. London : Plexus -South, James B. (2003). Buffy the Vampire Slayer and philosophy: fear and trembling in Sunnydale. Chicago, Ill. ; Open Court. Articles -Anna Cafolla (4th June 2018). Grindr is working to help users identify STI risk with hookups. Dazed and confused [Online]: http://www.dazeddigital.com/science-tech/article/ 40235/1/grindr-is-working-to-help-users-identify-sti-risks-with-hookups [accessed 2 January 2019] -Gerdes, Stefanie. (1 November 2016). A straight guy accidentally ended up in one of Berlin's filthiest gay clubs. Gaystarnews. [Online] https://www.gaystarnews.com/ article/straight-guy-berghain-review/#gs.aXicP2RT [accessed 10 December 2018] -Jeff Berry. The effect of AIDS on American art. Positivelyaware. [Online] https://www.positivelyaware.com/articles/effect-aids-american-art [accessed 2 January 2019] -Sandy Stone. (1985). Interview with Sandy Stone. [Online] https://sandystone.com/interviews/stone-transisters-interview.pdf [accessed 12 December 2018] -Weekly World News. Marilyn was bitten by a vampire newspaper. [Online] https://murtuusinanima.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/marilyn-monroe-fuevampiro/ [accessed 2 January 2019]. [Online] https://books.google.com.ar/books? id=JPQDAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Weekly+World+News+29+march+2004&hl=es&sa =X&ei=IQvaUbPqKqqZiAKZl4GYCQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 3 January 2019] -Gorton, T. (10 July 2015). Vladimir Putin’s party releases ‘straight pride flag’. Dazed and Confused. [Online] http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/25428/1/ vladimir-putin-s-party-releases-straight-pride-flag [accessed 10 December 2018] Films -Beetlejuice, 1988. Directed by Tim Burton. United States: Warner Bros. -Blood for Dracula, 1974. Directed by Paul Morrissey. Italy, France: Compagnia Cinematografica Champion. -Bram Stoker, Dracula; 1992. Directed by F. Ford Coppola. United States: American Zoetrope, Osiris Films. -Casanova, 1976. Directed by Federico Fellini. Italia: Produzioni Europee Associati. -Cherry Falls, 2000. Directed by Geoffrey Wright. United States: Rogue Pictures, Good Machine, Industry Entertainment. -Death Becomes Her, 1992. Directed by Robert Zemeckis. United States: Universal Pictures. -Elvira, Mistress of the Darkness, 1988. Directed by James Signorelli. United States; 20th Century Fox. -Eyes Wide Shut, 1999. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. United Kingdom, United States: Warner Bros, Stanley Kubrick Productions. -Interview with the Vampire, 1994. Directed by Neil Jordan. United States: The Geffen Film Company. Page 20 Vampirism, parasitism, gay practices Álvaro Navarro -Love at first bite, 1979. Directed by Stan Dragoti. United States: American International Pictures. -Maurice, 1987. Directed by James Ivory. United Kingdom: Merchant Ivory Productions, Channel 4. -Nadja, 1994. Directed by David Lynch. United States: Kino Link Company. -Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993. Directed by Henry Selick. United States: Touchstone Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures, Skellington Productions. -Party Monster, 2003. Directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. United States, Netherlands: Killer Films, Fortissimo Film Sales, World of Wonder. -Paris is Burning, 1991. Directed by Jennie Livingston. United States: Academy Entertainment Off White Productions. -Phenomena, 1985. Directed by Dario Argento. Italy: Seda Spettacoli. -Rebecca, 1940. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. United States: Selznick International Pictures. -Rocky Horror Picture Show, 1975. Directed by Jim Sharman. United Kingdom and United States: Michael White Productions. -Requiem for a vampire, 1971. Directed by Jean Rollin. France: Les Films ABC. -Scooby Doo, 2002. Directed by Raja Gosnell. United States, Australia: Mosaic Media Group, Warner Bros. Pictures. -Suspiria, 1977. Directed by Dario Argento. Italy: Seda Spettacoli. -The Adams, 1991. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. United States: Paramount Pictures. -They came from within, 1975. Directed by David Cronenberg. Canada: CFDC. -The creature of the black Lagoon, 1954. Directed by Jack Arnold. United States: Universal Studios. -The hour of the Wolf, 1968. Directed by Ingmar Bergman. Sweden: Svensk Filmindustri. -The Lost Boys, 1987. Directed by Joel Schumacher. United States: Warner Bros. -The nude vampire, 1970. Directed by Jean Rollin. France: ABC Films, Boxoffice International Pictures. -The shadow of the vampire, 2000. Directed by E. Elias Merhige. United States, United Kingdom: Saturn Films. -Transylvania Hotel, 2012. Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky. United States: Sony Pictures Animation. -Transylvania Hotel II, 2015. Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky. United States: Sony Pictures Animation. -Transylvania Hotel III, 2018. Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky. United States: Sony Pictures Animation. -What lies beneath, 2000. Directed by Robert Zemeckis. United States: ImageMovers. -120 days of Sodom, 1975. Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. France, Italy: Produzioni Europee Associate, Les Productions Artistes Associés. TV series -Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, 1969. Directed by Alex Lovy and Victor O. Schipek. CBS. Warner Bros. Television. -Buffy the vampire slayer, 1997. Directed by Gail Berman. The WB. United Paramount Network. Page 21