Project V Community

I had my full awakening as a baby bat (medsang) around 2019 but there were symptoms before that (I still feel like a baby bat sometimes even though it's been like 7 years lol.). I've been lucky that albeit not being super active in the vampyre community, that I have encountered very few bad faith actors- but I have heard from lots of others their experience hasn't been as fortunate. It has been about 13 years since I escaped the religious cult I was born into and to this day I'm still having to unlearn some of the things they ingrained in me. I see that in other baby/intermediate vampyres too, including myself- who were either taught harmful ideas about vampirism from others in the VC or through the media. Having to unlearn those things as you gain the strength, courage, knowledge, and experience to spread your wings and come into your own.

I see a lot of parallels in the two communities such as; insider vs outsider, distrust for the medical system, -isms such as homophobia/transphobia/racism/ect, internal policing, rules/regulations, unique group identities/labels, superiority complexes, rituals, and much more. But I also recognize that some forms of these are existing with different motivations, for example, the distrust for the medical system coming from negative experiences especially for vampyres who are disabled in different ways. Or the Donor Bill of Right to protect donors health, safety, and ability to give informed consent. And of course, that the actions of some members (-isms) do not represent the whole.

I'm not sharing this to say the VC is a harmful cult, or that it is blameless, what I'm trying to share is, like the article said, the characteristics of a cult absolutely exist on a spectrum. Not all cults have a traditional figurehead, sometimes it is ideologies or things, which might be more relevant in the VC. There are some aspects of (any) community that are truly for the benefit the members, and/or others that are made to harm. Something I like to remember to ask myself when discerning the intentions and/or impact of a group is, "is this community empowering me to live a healthy fulfilling life outside of the group?" and I've certainly found that to be true for the VC. I've met a lot of kind, supportive, and helpful individuals in the VC who have helped me navigate being a baby bat to being a practicing sang. Over the years I've seen a lot of the harmful aspects of the overall vampyre culture & media representation change for the better too.

TLDR; In conclusion, I really liked the article, lol.