"I Think I'm Adorable." - Supernatural, Sexism, Sex, and Dean Winchester
I have been craving a substantial discourse on Supernatural for months now. Unfortunately, my RL friends are indifferent to the show and various attempts to drag people into it have been met with lukewarm enthusiasm. But then biting_moopie came to my rescue! She mentioned a couple issues that she had with the show and they were all things that I had heard before and somehow my response turned into a minor treatise on the subject. So present it for vague meta purposes and to flex my not-so-secret inner clinician. Please note that this ultimately turned into a character analysis as, thanks to the myopia-fostering nature of grad school, I find it highly difficult to view things outside of the lens of psychology so I just roll with it these days.
biting_moopie’s comment: There's a fair amount of gender stereotyping (pure women dying while looking all virginal in their white nightgowns, for example) and Dean's misogynist language increased sharply in Season 3. There's a list somewhere but the usage of words like "bitch", "skank" and "slut" were really worrying. I'm pretty sure it made it to FW. […]. Dean's mocking of Sam's masculinity really bothers me. Sure, it's just Dean being an idiot but why does he have to use references to his sexuality to be an idiot? And don't get me started on Bella. [….] They introduced a new character and then proceeded to do absolutely nothing with her until the very end, when she actually became interesting. She had so much potential and I LOVED how she outsmarted the Winchesters. That was hilarious and it made for some great tension. And I'm still really angry about Ellen, although that was the network's fault more than the show's. They wanted to attract a younger audience so they fired Samantha Ferris because she was too old for the show. Apparently Bobby isn't too old, though. Don't ask me why. I loved Ellen, she rocked.
I've actually seen a lot of the same critiques before from others. And I agree with the comments on the usage of the characters. I don't like Jo as a love interest for Dean, but I do miss her and Ellen. I was also disappointed that the only time we see Pastor Jim and Caleb, they're dying, and that Cassie won't be making any more appearances. I think that it's just an unfortunate part of the evolution of the series, though. The writers' strike and the budget cuts and fighting tooth and nail to stay on the air has taken a toll on the show. The Special Kids plotline, for example, was actually supposed to run into the middle of Season 3, but time and budget constraints, along with plot concerns, forced Kripke to cut it short. Characters are written out as a result of that. It sucks and it's frustrating because we don't get to see the full story, but all things considered, there's little choice in the matter. I genuinely believe Bela (I think that's the right spelling)-and a lot of the was a victim of this.
As for the sexist overtones in the show, yeah. They’re definitely there. But I think there also kind of unavoidable and that misogyny-a hatred of the female gender with pathological connotations-is far too strong a word. Dean (the typical vessel of these views), while I love him to pieces, is an asshole. And he's also somewhat sexist and a bit of a redneck, but he doesn’t hate all women or even ‘woman’ as a construct/schema. And, contextually, his behavior makes sense, regardless of the value judgments associated with it. When you factor in the fact that he's pretty screwed up in the head--Sam was not exaggerating that much when he said Dean was antisocial--and isn't actually too keen on people in general (see: “Sin City” & “The Benders”) and it's an excellent recipe for Dean to be a bit sexist. Dean’s experiences with women whom he knows in more than a victim/sex partner context are historically bad--his mother, Cassie, Madison, etc.--and most the women that he does know in other contexts, he tends to treat like live action porn . . . because they react to that in a usually favorable manner. When you really consider it, outside of dealing with victims and Sam and Bobby, the only real contact Dean has with other people is sexual or predatory. And he normally sexually engages the type of women who don't mind one-night stands and are a bit sexually . . . liberated.
Now, if you look at "What Is and What Can Never Be," he clearly longs for much different relationships (also remember Lisa in “Dream a Little Dream of Me?”), but his ability to form normal, healthy, lasting emotional bonds is seriously shot to hell. Ever notice how Dean doesn’t really have any friends? It is notable, however, that Dead started to form non-sexual bonds with Gordon, and then later with Henricksen, but both of those pretty much went south when Gordon turned out to be batshit insane and Victor was killed by Lilith.
And honestly? Bela was a bitch. She shot Sam, stole from them on multiple occasions, endangered their lives and civilian lives every time she was involved in something, stole the Colt, and turned them in to the Feds (which resulted in 5 or 6 people being vaporized by Lilith), so . . . Yeah. I liked her character, by “Time is On My Side,” I probably would not have been too upset is Dean had really shot her. His assessment of her was pretty spot on. When he said "That bitch breathes and the air comes out crooked," I cracked up because it was true.
And Ruby's not a real prize either. There's the demon factor to consider (and Dean's hatred--rational or otherwise--of almost all things supernatural is pretty well documented (see: “Bloodlust”)), not to mention Dean's fear of Sam's powers, and also the fact that she antagonizes Dean just as much as he antagonizes her. And no, she doesn't always use sexually-based slurs, but she does insult his intelligence literally every time they meet. Calling him "shortbus" and saying things like he's "too stupid to live" spring to mind. And--given Dean's crap self-esteem and self-worth issues--she's nailing a fairly painful spot, so I can't really be too offended by his hatred of her, even if I don’t share it.
Even Sam makes comments about Dean's intelligence at times, and they hit home. Remember Dean flinching during the EMF scene in the airplane episode?
It's also notable that he clearly does not HATE women. Dean not only idealizes women in fantasy (again, Lisa in the dream)-and not in a sex-kitten or pure and virginal mother-figure way, but in the same way he idealizes his father as having once played softball and Sam as . . . uh . . . not being the antichrist, despite Sam’s increasingly disturbing behavior in season 3 (which is a whole other meta/debate)-but his treatment of Ellen, Cassie, and Jo (they need to bring those three back!) is nothing but equitable and respectful. Similarly in the Trickster episode, while Sam recalls “Starla” as a simpering, drunken ditz, Dean recalls her as a “classy chick” and a graduate student. He's also not really a dick to the women they deal with in the context of hunts.
So really, it's only certain types of women that he tends to objectify--and I would actually argue that that's more so that he can prevent himself from forming any sort of emotional attachment and not really because of them per se--and it's only when he's somehow provoked that he lashes out at a woman. His tendency to do so in a sexually based manner--bitch, skank, slut, etc--is more a product of culture and his upbringing. Plus, seriously, the last time you were mad at a woman, didn't you call her a bitch or think she was acting like a bitch? It's the nature of the beast that being derogatory towards a woman involves her sexual habits (I once called someone a strumpet for plagiarizing an RP piece I co-wrote). Conversely, though, insulting a man usually involves insulting his virility and Dean also takes hits in that arena, but no one protests it.
When it comes to Dean and Sam, I'd actually argue that in canon Dean is slightly homophobic and overcompensating. (And given that he’s got denial as a defense mechanism specialized to the point of a Jedi-like mind trick-while it’s not canon-no, I don’t think that that precludes him from having sex with men, but I’ll get to Dean’s views on his body in a minute.) Sam actually makes more than a few remarks about Dean overcompensating (along with not-inaccurate insinuations that Dean's a bit of a slut or only thinks with his penis). I don't think Dean is gonna gay-bash anyone or anything, but I do think that a ton of his emotional issues are tied up in sex and so his knee-jerk reaction to things that make him uncomfortable is to sexualize them because it's something he can handle then.
Remember, I also argue that it's canon that Dean has some pretty serious problems with forming emotional bonds to people and--outside of Sam and Bobby--the vast majority of his interaction with people are somehow predatory (conning people or in the context of hunting), sexual (his myriad of one-night stands), or both (flirting to get information or getting free food or drinks). Keeping in this vein, however, I think it's pretty evident that Dean primarily views his body and his sexuality not as something personal, but rather as a tool--just one more useful thing in the arsenal. His vanity is more a reflection of that than anything else. He's proud of his body just like he's proud of keeping the weapons clean; it's just something that you have to do to stay safe.
And he does use his body and sex as a meal ticket and a distraction. A lot of his comments to both men and women alike are easily construed as flirting. Remember the grin that went along with the "I think I'm adorable" line to Henricksen? There, Dean uses his attractiveness as a diversion and he was also sexualizing a situation to make himself more comfortable. If he'd said that to a woman in the exact same manner, it would have easily been seen as flirting; I think people read it differently because he was talking to two men at the time.
Comment to Bela aside, he's comfortable being objectified and thus frequently acts like a caricature of himself to keep people away. Sam is the biggest threat to Dean Winchester's World of Obfuscation because he pushes Dean to share and care and forces Dean to feel substantial emotions. Given Dean's tendency to sexualize things and his very extreme need to hide from emotional situations and attachments, his use homophobic language is arguably a natural outgrowth of these defenses. Sam expressing concern or sensitivity is viewed as an attempt to extract emotion, which makes him uncomfortable and is thus subconsciously sexualized and then summarily rejected or deflected in the same sexual terms.
The virginal white thing is spot on, though I think that's more of a reflection of the Winchester men and the demon than anything else. Cassie and Madison's sacrifices are handled in a much different manner, so I'd argue that it's not really a reflection of Kripke. And then there's also the fact that the first time we see Jess, she's dressed as a sexy nurse and hot; not looking real virginal. :-)
So really, I really think the sexism perceived by a lot of fans is more an unfortunate result of the show's political evolution and Dean being an ass with serious attachment issues than anything else. And, to be honest, watching Supernatural and complaining that Dean is sexist and the writers should change it is a bit like making cocoa every week and then complaining that you don’t like chocolate; who Dean is and his psychological complexity are an inherent part of the mix-for better and for worse.
Please bear in mind, however, that I’m merely looking to explain the logic of Dean’s behavior, not to excuse it. This is not me “letting Dean off the hook” because he’s a boy or because he’s a headcase or whatever either. This is an analysis of the sexism in the show as being a natural and realistic part of character development and not a political statement.
I’m pretty sure I missed some of biting_moopie’s points and left out important things, but I’d love to see other people’s thoughts or rebuttals.
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T minus 19 hours and 37 minutes to S4! ^o^
biting_moopie’s comment: There's a fair amount of gender stereotyping (pure women dying while looking all virginal in their white nightgowns, for example) and Dean's misogynist language increased sharply in Season 3. There's a list somewhere but the usage of words like "bitch", "skank" and "slut" were really worrying. I'm pretty sure it made it to FW. […]. Dean's mocking of Sam's masculinity really bothers me. Sure, it's just Dean being an idiot but why does he have to use references to his sexuality to be an idiot? And don't get me started on Bella. [….] They introduced a new character and then proceeded to do absolutely nothing with her until the very end, when she actually became interesting. She had so much potential and I LOVED how she outsmarted the Winchesters. That was hilarious and it made for some great tension. And I'm still really angry about Ellen, although that was the network's fault more than the show's. They wanted to attract a younger audience so they fired Samantha Ferris because she was too old for the show. Apparently Bobby isn't too old, though. Don't ask me why. I loved Ellen, she rocked.
I've actually seen a lot of the same critiques before from others. And I agree with the comments on the usage of the characters. I don't like Jo as a love interest for Dean, but I do miss her and Ellen. I was also disappointed that the only time we see Pastor Jim and Caleb, they're dying, and that Cassie won't be making any more appearances. I think that it's just an unfortunate part of the evolution of the series, though. The writers' strike and the budget cuts and fighting tooth and nail to stay on the air has taken a toll on the show. The Special Kids plotline, for example, was actually supposed to run into the middle of Season 3, but time and budget constraints, along with plot concerns, forced Kripke to cut it short. Characters are written out as a result of that. It sucks and it's frustrating because we don't get to see the full story, but all things considered, there's little choice in the matter. I genuinely believe Bela (I think that's the right spelling)-and a lot of the was a victim of this.
As for the sexist overtones in the show, yeah. They’re definitely there. But I think there also kind of unavoidable and that misogyny-a hatred of the female gender with pathological connotations-is far too strong a word. Dean (the typical vessel of these views), while I love him to pieces, is an asshole. And he's also somewhat sexist and a bit of a redneck, but he doesn’t hate all women or even ‘woman’ as a construct/schema. And, contextually, his behavior makes sense, regardless of the value judgments associated with it. When you factor in the fact that he's pretty screwed up in the head--Sam was not exaggerating that much when he said Dean was antisocial--and isn't actually too keen on people in general (see: “Sin City” & “The Benders”) and it's an excellent recipe for Dean to be a bit sexist. Dean’s experiences with women whom he knows in more than a victim/sex partner context are historically bad--his mother, Cassie, Madison, etc.--and most the women that he does know in other contexts, he tends to treat like live action porn . . . because they react to that in a usually favorable manner. When you really consider it, outside of dealing with victims and Sam and Bobby, the only real contact Dean has with other people is sexual or predatory. And he normally sexually engages the type of women who don't mind one-night stands and are a bit sexually . . . liberated.
Now, if you look at "What Is and What Can Never Be," he clearly longs for much different relationships (also remember Lisa in “Dream a Little Dream of Me?”), but his ability to form normal, healthy, lasting emotional bonds is seriously shot to hell. Ever notice how Dean doesn’t really have any friends? It is notable, however, that Dead started to form non-sexual bonds with Gordon, and then later with Henricksen, but both of those pretty much went south when Gordon turned out to be batshit insane and Victor was killed by Lilith.
And honestly? Bela was a bitch. She shot Sam, stole from them on multiple occasions, endangered their lives and civilian lives every time she was involved in something, stole the Colt, and turned them in to the Feds (which resulted in 5 or 6 people being vaporized by Lilith), so . . . Yeah. I liked her character, by “Time is On My Side,” I probably would not have been too upset is Dean had really shot her. His assessment of her was pretty spot on. When he said "That bitch breathes and the air comes out crooked," I cracked up because it was true.
And Ruby's not a real prize either. There's the demon factor to consider (and Dean's hatred--rational or otherwise--of almost all things supernatural is pretty well documented (see: “Bloodlust”)), not to mention Dean's fear of Sam's powers, and also the fact that she antagonizes Dean just as much as he antagonizes her. And no, she doesn't always use sexually-based slurs, but she does insult his intelligence literally every time they meet. Calling him "shortbus" and saying things like he's "too stupid to live" spring to mind. And--given Dean's crap self-esteem and self-worth issues--she's nailing a fairly painful spot, so I can't really be too offended by his hatred of her, even if I don’t share it.
Even Sam makes comments about Dean's intelligence at times, and they hit home. Remember Dean flinching during the EMF scene in the airplane episode?
It's also notable that he clearly does not HATE women. Dean not only idealizes women in fantasy (again, Lisa in the dream)-and not in a sex-kitten or pure and virginal mother-figure way, but in the same way he idealizes his father as having once played softball and Sam as . . . uh . . . not being the antichrist, despite Sam’s increasingly disturbing behavior in season 3 (which is a whole other meta/debate)-but his treatment of Ellen, Cassie, and Jo (they need to bring those three back!) is nothing but equitable and respectful. Similarly in the Trickster episode, while Sam recalls “Starla” as a simpering, drunken ditz, Dean recalls her as a “classy chick” and a graduate student. He's also not really a dick to the women they deal with in the context of hunts.
So really, it's only certain types of women that he tends to objectify--and I would actually argue that that's more so that he can prevent himself from forming any sort of emotional attachment and not really because of them per se--and it's only when he's somehow provoked that he lashes out at a woman. His tendency to do so in a sexually based manner--bitch, skank, slut, etc--is more a product of culture and his upbringing. Plus, seriously, the last time you were mad at a woman, didn't you call her a bitch or think she was acting like a bitch? It's the nature of the beast that being derogatory towards a woman involves her sexual habits (I once called someone a strumpet for plagiarizing an RP piece I co-wrote). Conversely, though, insulting a man usually involves insulting his virility and Dean also takes hits in that arena, but no one protests it.
When it comes to Dean and Sam, I'd actually argue that in canon Dean is slightly homophobic and overcompensating. (And given that he’s got denial as a defense mechanism specialized to the point of a Jedi-like mind trick-while it’s not canon-no, I don’t think that that precludes him from having sex with men, but I’ll get to Dean’s views on his body in a minute.) Sam actually makes more than a few remarks about Dean overcompensating (along with not-inaccurate insinuations that Dean's a bit of a slut or only thinks with his penis). I don't think Dean is gonna gay-bash anyone or anything, but I do think that a ton of his emotional issues are tied up in sex and so his knee-jerk reaction to things that make him uncomfortable is to sexualize them because it's something he can handle then.
Remember, I also argue that it's canon that Dean has some pretty serious problems with forming emotional bonds to people and--outside of Sam and Bobby--the vast majority of his interaction with people are somehow predatory (conning people or in the context of hunting), sexual (his myriad of one-night stands), or both (flirting to get information or getting free food or drinks). Keeping in this vein, however, I think it's pretty evident that Dean primarily views his body and his sexuality not as something personal, but rather as a tool--just one more useful thing in the arsenal. His vanity is more a reflection of that than anything else. He's proud of his body just like he's proud of keeping the weapons clean; it's just something that you have to do to stay safe.
And he does use his body and sex as a meal ticket and a distraction. A lot of his comments to both men and women alike are easily construed as flirting. Remember the grin that went along with the "I think I'm adorable" line to Henricksen? There, Dean uses his attractiveness as a diversion and he was also sexualizing a situation to make himself more comfortable. If he'd said that to a woman in the exact same manner, it would have easily been seen as flirting; I think people read it differently because he was talking to two men at the time.
Comment to Bela aside, he's comfortable being objectified and thus frequently acts like a caricature of himself to keep people away. Sam is the biggest threat to Dean Winchester's World of Obfuscation because he pushes Dean to share and care and forces Dean to feel substantial emotions. Given Dean's tendency to sexualize things and his very extreme need to hide from emotional situations and attachments, his use homophobic language is arguably a natural outgrowth of these defenses. Sam expressing concern or sensitivity is viewed as an attempt to extract emotion, which makes him uncomfortable and is thus subconsciously sexualized and then summarily rejected or deflected in the same sexual terms.
The virginal white thing is spot on, though I think that's more of a reflection of the Winchester men and the demon than anything else. Cassie and Madison's sacrifices are handled in a much different manner, so I'd argue that it's not really a reflection of Kripke. And then there's also the fact that the first time we see Jess, she's dressed as a sexy nurse and hot; not looking real virginal. :-)
So really, I really think the sexism perceived by a lot of fans is more an unfortunate result of the show's political evolution and Dean being an ass with serious attachment issues than anything else. And, to be honest, watching Supernatural and complaining that Dean is sexist and the writers should change it is a bit like making cocoa every week and then complaining that you don’t like chocolate; who Dean is and his psychological complexity are an inherent part of the mix-for better and for worse.
Please bear in mind, however, that I’m merely looking to explain the logic of Dean’s behavior, not to excuse it. This is not me “letting Dean off the hook” because he’s a boy or because he’s a headcase or whatever either. This is an analysis of the sexism in the show as being a natural and realistic part of character development and not a political statement.
I’m pretty sure I missed some of biting_moopie’s points and left out important things, but I’d love to see other people’s thoughts or rebuttals.
---
T minus 19 hours and 37 minutes to S4! ^o^