Season 1 Episode 7 of the Vampire Diaries titled “Haunted” through the Sex Role Perspective.

  • Resisting or Reinforcing Femininity Stereotypes Examples: 
    • Vicki Donovan has become a vampire, and during her transition she is very aggressive towards those around her. Vicki continuously threatens Elena for getting in her way, and  even ends up hurting her later in the show. Vicki is resisting the female gender stereotype of women becoming compassionate, since she has no remorse for how she is treating those around her and is very violent. 
    • Caroline is featured back in the show and her main focus is men. When at her school dance, Caroline states, “I am going to drink until someone is hot enough to make out with”. Caroline’s only goal is to be drunk and to hook up with a guy, not showing any sort of ambition for anything else demonstrates the female gender stereotype that woman only want the attention of men. 
    • Bonnie is learning about her with powers, and when speaking with Damon she is very assertive and doesn’t back down. Bonnie resists the female stereotype of women being passive by not allowing Damon to take back the necklace from her witch bloodline. 
  • Resisting or Reinforcing Masculinity Stereotypes Examples:
  • Damon and Stefan have different approaches to teaching Vicki how to be a vampire. Damon encourages Vicki to feed on people, meaning that she would have to hurt or potentially kill someone to maintain survival. Stefan wants Vicki to feed on animals to avoid hurting anyone. Stefan is resisting the masculine stereotype by being compassionate and empathizing for humans, while Damon reinforces the toxic masculinity example by correlating violence with power and freedom. 
  • When Vicki is killed at the end of the show, Jeremy starts to sob uncontrollably. Jeremy is resisting the gender stereotype of men not showing emotion by showcasing his feelings to those around him. 

Shared by: Alexis Masino
Image Credit: https://vampirediaries.fandom.com/wiki/Haunted/Transcript