7. The Red Ribbon as Restraint. St. Sebastian is the unofficial patron saint of gay men. His naked, bound image is found in gay iconography as far back as the 19th century. He is also the saint invoked against the plague. In the 1980’s and 90’s, growing fears of AIDS among gays, straights and bisexuals fed an upsurge in vampire mythology and iconography. Here, in an ad for a Canadian porn and sex-toy store, a red AIDS ribbon and the slogan from a popular vampire film conjoin with a Sebastian-like pose.
