Exploring homophobia in 21st-century Taiwanese vampire light novels

Vampire literature employs the portrayal of an immortal demon as a literary device to provoke social fears and anxieties among readers. The characteristics of the Taiwanese vampires have evolved from being horrific figures of the undead to vampires in fiction that are artistically crafted and reveal multifaceted perspectives regarding non-normative gender and sexuality. Due to their liminality, vampires are frequently employed to unveil complex issues regarding homosexuality and bisexuality. Although images of vampires in Taiwanese literature have been widely discussed, relatively few studies have examined “homophobic” perspectives. This paper therefore explores the relationship between vampire figures and homophobia in 21st-century Taiwanese vampire novels, with a focus on two Taiwanese light novels that address discrimination against homosexual and bisexual polyamorous relationships: Heitao’s Gen wo qi yue ba! Xixie guigongzi and Muji’s Li Taibei waisong. Through the lens of Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection (1982) and David Halperin’s queer theory (1995), the vampire is regarded as “the abject” that problematises binary opposition. They are the queer outsiders, who dwell at the periphery of society and provide a metaphorical representation of the “other” that embodies homosexuality and bisexuality. Because they are abject, vampires are not cast off but rather controlled through a monogamous relationship, thus unveiling the implicit manifestations of homophobia linked to homosexual/bisexual polyamorous relationships in contemporary Taiwanese society.