Vampires and Sex

Sex has been a prevailing drive for all human cultures throughout the history of the world. It is a central theme to people's lives because without it, the human race cannot evolve and procreate. It is obvious, then, why sex is a central theme too many literary works as well as other forms of expression. Vampires are a symbol of sex. They are erogenous and sensual, as well as terrifying and repulsive. This is where their uncanniness comes from. Sex is, according to many psychologists, one of our central drives, so it makes sense that we would be drawn to and familiar with the sexiness of the vampire. They are also made up, fictitious creatures that have dealings with dark mysterious happenings that we don't understand. Vampires live off of the human's lifeforce, their blood. Blood is what causes us to feel passionate feelings and warm and hot...(sorry, this is a little explicit!! =]) Vampires suck this out of their victims. This, symbolically speaking, is incredibly erogenous. Sex is the exchanging of physical feelings into emotional expression (sometimes) and is essential to pleasure. Vampires symbolize pleasure, they live on despite the fact that they murder innocent people.
I believe this is the major reason why Vampires have evolved to what they are in today's pop culture. People used to find power and domincance as the main symbol for sex. Now, the idea of good and bad vampires, that these murderers can also be chivolrous knights-in-shining-armor...that is what is sexy to us now.
As far as Dracula goes, while he is not described as the sexiest man alive, he is said to have powers to persuade and to hypnotize other beings into doing what he wants. This is sexual. The woman are repulsive, their voices almost drive John Harker mad, but they are still described as beautiful and powerful, and all he wanted was to kiss them. The scene where the fair one almost sucks his blood was extremely sexual in it's undertones. Harker almost needed her to be close to him, to taste him...he wanted her!! And obviously the way that Dracula himself lures his victims, choosing the woman he wants, denotes strong sexual drives.
Vampires and their sexual ways of doing whatever they choose and deriving pleasure from the drinking of human blood are the reason why they have persisted through the decades as a pop culture icon.