Bitchwatch, part one

[apocalypsos]

(Oh, man, my internet picked a fine time to want to go out. *headdesk*)

So with all of the feminist outcry over this season's misogynistic bend, and the response of some people that ... well, it's not, I wanted to go back and double-check something. Most of the focus of this outcry has been on Dean, since his attitudes towards women have -- at least to some of us -- changed in the last season. So I went back through transcripts and (now that I've run out of them) the actual episodes looking for every instance in which the words bitch, slut, skank, and whore are used by anyone, but with a focus on Dean.

All of these are times in which Dean used the word in question in the listed episode, whom he said it about or to, and -- more often than not -- when he said it simply as a turn of phrase and not as a pointed remark towards a character. The numbers listed indicate the number of times he said the turn of phrase or called the character by said name during the episode. (So far, I've only reached one instance for each, but I expect that to possibly be a problem when I hit season three, so I'm planning ahead.)

Also included is each instance when Sam says the word in question (obviously less often than Dean). Instances when other characters say the words in question are listed below. Since Dean is the focus of all the misogyny wank, I focused on his language specifically.

SEASON ONE

Bitch

Pilot (Constance, 1; Sam, 1)
Wendigo (Wendigo, 1; "Sons of bitches", 1)
Skin ("Son of a bitch", 1*)
Asylum ("Son of a bitch", 1)
Faith (The Snuggle Bear, 1)
Route 666 ("You son of a bitch," re: Killer Racist Truck, 1)
The Benders ("Son of a bitch," 1; "These locks are going to be a bitch," 1)**
Shadow ("Bitching," 1; To Sam, re: Meg, 1) ***
Hell House ("Bitch-slap," said by Sam, 1; "Son of a bitch", 1; "Son of a bitch," said by Sam, 1)
Something Wicked ("Son of a bitch", 1)
Dead Man's Blood ("Son of a bitch," 1) *****
Salvation ("Son of a Bitch," 1) ******
Devil's Trap (Meg, 1; "Evil sons of bitches," to Meg re: demons, 1; "Son of a bitch", 1) ******* Also, in this instance where Dean calls Meg a bitch, he follows it up by backhanding her.

Slut

No instances in season one.

Skank

Hell House ****

Whore

No instances in season one.

* "Son of a bitch" also said by Shapeshifter!Dean, which I didn't count.
** Character of Pa refers to Kathleen as "bitch" twice, character of Jared refers to her as "bitch"
*** John refers to the demon as "one scary son of a bitch"
**** One of the boys who enters the Hell House refers to the jars in the cellar as "skank-filled."
***** John refers to Daniel Elkins as "that son of a bitch" and the demon as a "bad son of a bitch." Luthur calls John "you son of a bitch."
****** John says "son of a bitch" after finding out about Pastor Jim.
******* Meg calls Dean a "son of a bitch."

IN SUMMATION

Over the course of twenty-two episodes, Dean only refers to two female characters as "bitches," Constance and Meg. (Apparently, the Snuggle Bear is a boy.) Both of these instances occurred after Constance and Meg attacked the boys. Which doesn't excuse it, obviously, but still. The one time he calls Meg a bitch to her face, he backhands her right afterwards, although his father's been kidnapped and he's looking for answers and she's toying with him so he's a little touchy. (Does anybody else remember being shocked that Dean was THAT out of his mind that he'd hit her? I remember everybody being struck by that, no pun intended.)

Once you get rid of the instances in which the phrase "son of a bitch" or other phrases using the word "bitch" are used and boil it down to the instances in which Dean specifically refers to a character as a bitch, he actually refers to more males (Sam, the Wendigo, the Snuggle Bear) that way than he does females (Constance and Meg), although he does call them bitches an equal number of times. He calls a male character a bitch three times during the season, and he calls a female character a bitch three times during the season. Meg lucks out and gets called a bitch twice.

Also, the Benders call a female character a bitch more in one episode than Dean does to other female characters all season long. If that counts for anything.

I'll get season two up just as soon as I finish rewatching "Heart" and "Hollywood Babylon." After that, I'm going to have to either find season three scripts somewhere or go on a downloading spree. (Unless anybody wants to help out by documenting the times the words turn up in the episodes I don't have, which would be fabulous.)

Comments

[girl-wonder.livejournal.com]

Really interesting way to look at this current issue. I'd offer to help, but I'm completely busy until the 20th. If you still need help after that, I have a few episodes of S3 on my hard drive and I could give them a watch.

[winterweathered.livejournal.com]

This will be more or less relevant once you tally up season two, but it should probably be noted that The CW's views on profanity are MUCH more lax than The WB. The WB tried to keep things a little more family-friendly even in its later timeslots - the CW has no interest in the idea of family programming whatsoever.

[winterweathered.livejournal.com]

(Also, assign me an episode! I don't know what you need, but I'll take any excuse to re-watch.)

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Heh. I'll let you pick. :)

3.09 Malleus Maleficarum
3.10 Dream A Little Dream Of Me
3.11 Mystery Spot
3.12 Jus In Bello
3.15 Time Is On My Side
3.16 No Rest For The Wicked

I just need a detailed list of every time any character uses the words bitch, slut, skank, or whore. And any other sexist identifier, if they come up. (I added "broad" for "Red Sky at Morning" thanks to Dean calling Gert that. *sigh*)

[winterweathered.livejournal.com]

I'll do the finale since it's already downloaded - I think he uses broad in that one, too. :)

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Oh, good. I've got that one but I'm five and a half minutes in and he's already called Bela a bitch and Ruby a skank, so I'm glad to let you take it off my hands. :)

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

I'm almost done with season two, but it's looking like season two is equal if not a smidge tamer.

[esorlehcar.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this.

I'm really not up to rewatching anything from SPN at this point, but I look forward to seeing the results.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Well, it's not looking good already and I haven't even done "Malleus Maleficarum" or the last two episodes. *sigh*

[meret.livejournal.com]

Wow! Thanks for doing this! I think calling a man a bitch or a girl when unhappy with them is also misogynist. It's no different than telling someone they're acting black when they're doing something you disapprove of.

I almost hate to ask this, but did you check instances where the word girl is used as a pejorative?

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

That almost makes Dean look a little better, though, since most of the times he calls a guy a bitch it's Sam and it's affectionate. (Granted, it IS calling him a bitch, but still.)

Oh, man, I didn't even think about that. I'm almost afraid to go look now.

[meret.livejournal.com]

since most of the times he calls a guy a bitch it's Sam and it's affectionate. (Granted, it IS calling him a bitch, but still.)

That really doesn't make it better to me since he usually does it when he's irritated with him however slightly. It's still saying being female is a bad thing. Kripke could just have easily had Dean call him wimp or wuss, but instead chose the gendered insult.

I didn't even think about that. I'm almost afraid to go look now.

Sorry! *sheepish* I could swear I remember Dean calling Sam that as an insult though.

[cofax7]

Kripke could just have easily had Dean call him wimp or wuss, but instead chose the gendered insult.

Well, there's an argument to be made that "wimp or wuss" are also gendered insults, although rather more indirect. It's bad to be a wimp because wimps are weak, and weakness is unmanly, and unmanly = female. I don't think it's as conscious a gendered insult as "bitch", but I'm pretty sure there's an element of that. Things which are un-masculine are by definition feminine, and feminine is Bad.

[meret.livejournal.com]

Somehow those don't hit me the same way. Maybe because I grew up hearing those applied equally to men and women for the same behavior, but only heard men called bitch if they were acting stereotypically female and women called it if they were being assertive or demanding the same rights as men.

[meret.livejournal.com]

Okay, this is the only instance I found of it season 1.

Salvation:
MEG: You throw like a girl. (JIM begins backing away from her.)

Opps! I didn't count instances where grown women get called a girl. That's the same as a black man being called a boy IMO. Sorry!

two eps.

[sgriobadh.livejournal.com]

Bitch
3.14 Long Distance Call (Ruby, 1)*
3.16 Finale (Bela, 2; Ruby, 1; Dean, 1; Lilith, 1)**

Slut
3.16 Finale (Ruby, 1)***

Skank
3.16 Finale (Ruby, 1)****

Whore
None.


* "I really don't care what that bitch thinks," Dean tells Sam that Ruby can't save him.
* Also, "That bastard's been tailing me," in reference to the demon holding Dean's contract.

**"When that bitch breathes the air comes out crooked," Dean on Bela.
"Look, call me a bitch, hate me all you want, but I have never lied to you, Sam," Ruby to Sam.
"You're almost Hell's bitch, so you can see Hell's other bitches." Bobby to Dean.
"Try and stop me, and I'll kill you, bitch." Sam to Ruby.
"So this is your plan... become Queen Bitch," Dean to Lilith.

*** "Our slutty little Yoda," Dean on Ruby.

**** "She is the Miss Universe of lying skanks." Dean on Ruby.

Bonus!: "You all look alike to me," Dean to Lilith.

Re: two eps.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Awesome. Thanks for those!

"You all look alike to me," Dean to Lilith.

I don't know. I took that one to mean demons and not women.

Re: two eps.

[sgriobadh.livejournal.com]

Oh, that was just fun with racist undertones.

[phaballa.livejournal.com]

This is... sort of interesting, although I find it sort of depressing that you felt the need to make a tally sheet. I haven't read your counts from the other seasons yet, but I wanted to say--a friend of mine just wrote an essay about Supernatural and femininity for one of those popculture compilation books, and so far he's made the most sense about it than anyone else I've read (and of course, him having not read any of the meta...) He has this theory about how the supernatural world is a feminine world, and the ways in which Dean navigates something so alien and something which he's been taught to hate, and how he needs Sam to be a whole person because Sam is spiritually (ie psychically) feminine, while Dean is physically masculine. Together they only make one complete person, with both masculine and feminine characteristics.

And of course he does a lot of close reading to prove his theory, and I'm not saying it very well, but I sort of think Dean's language problem has something to do with the masculine-feminine dichotomy the show attempts to explore.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

I find it sort of depressing that you felt the need to make a tally sheet

You and me both. It was just, all the talk of wank and Dean calling women derogatory names ... I'm enough of a Libra to just keep thinking every time both sides go at it, "I'm not nuts, right? I mean, he's never been perfect but he's never been this bad, right?"

And I don't even have season three done yet and it already trumps both of the earlier seasons. Hell, there are entire episodes that give the two previous seasons a run for their money. And while the first two seasons Dean only refers to two female demons and a killer ghost with misogynistic pejoratives, in the third season ... demon and human, good and bad, he gets them all.

Damn. That sounds like an awesome essay, too.

[phaballa.livejournal.com]

It's a TOTALLY awesome essay. He's not a Supernatural fan at all, either, so I think it's easier for him to watch the show through a particular lens and try to figure out how the show navigates something like femininity when it's got two male characters who are *hunters*, etc. Anyway, it's good! Maybe some people will read it :P

I wonder if his language gets so bad in S3 because of the situation. I mean, he sold his SOUL. He's pretty desperate. You could make the argument that he's basically given up on life and has sort of become like... super-concentrated Dean, in an attempt to get all his living in within the space of a year. If you're making the assumption that the writers are writing characters a certain way, there's got to be a thematic reason behind all the bitchery.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's the only viable reason I can come up with myself for why his language might have gotten so bad. Of course, I'm not even sure I want to consider that the writers might have planned to write him this way when they were also planning on bringing on two new female characters. Something about that makes the word "targets" flash through my brain on a really skeevy note.

[phaballa.livejournal.com]

Well it all comes down to the writers at the end, doesn't it? Who's writing the episodes that are particularly negative toward women, and can we assume they're doing so with malicious intent? Or, on the other hand, are they just immaturely pleased with being allowed a high swear word quota? There are not very many swear words you can use on network television, but of course, "bitch" and "slut" and "whore" are allowed, and maybe the writers think that Dean wouldn't call Meg an asshole (even though she WAS.)

[viciouswishes.livejournal.com]

Wait, there was an episode about the Snuggle Bear. Like the one from those 80s commercials?

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

No, Dean was in the hospital and watching TV and he made a crack about the Snuggle Bear commercials.