Wincest

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Definition

Wincest is the term commonly used to describe fanfiction (or other fanworks) that depict or assume a romantic or sexual (i.e. Slash) relationship between Sam Winchester and Dean Winchester.

The word is a portmanteau of brothers' last name, Winchester, and the word "incest". Fans of Wincest occasionally refer to themselves as Wincesters.

The term Wincest is also commonly thought of as interchangeable with Sam/Dean (or Dean/Sam), however any Winchester pairing could be considered 'Wincest'.

You do realize they're brothers?

Wincest fic arose the moment the show was aired supported by the typical ingredients a slasher needs: two extremely hot guys, a dead girlfriend, and a brotherly love that leaves no room for anyone else. Add a bit of spice like daddy issues, betrayal, childhood trauma and emotional dependency and you have your perfect dish to satisfy hordes of Slash fans. And it wasn't only fangirls who noticed the dynamic. Gay blogger Nathan Exposed wrote in November 2005 "It’s like the Hard Boys, only gayer. The cheese factor is no surprise. This is the WB, after all. But I love the awkward sexual tension between the brothers."

2005.09.14: Within hours of the Pilot airing the first Sam/Dean fic is posted as the first fic at supernatural_fic and sn_slash by janedavitt.

  • 2005.10.25 Fic Community Wincest opens.

Based on an analysis of nearly 30,000 stories fanfiction listed in the LJ Supernatural newsletter, approximately 39% of Supernatural fan fiction is Wincest.

On Livejournal, Wincest and non-Wincest fans generally co-exist peacefully in the fandom. Many writers write both Gen and Wincest. Wank has broken out on occasion, but far less than many expected. Due to the fact that there are so few unrelated characters, slash fans who are uncomfortable with Wincest have moved into Jsquared/RPS, many of whom would previously have avoided RPS fandoms. This has lead to the phrase "Supernatural fandom - where RPS is the moral high ground"! After the appearance of Castiel in Season Four, the pairing of Dean/Castiel offered a an incestuous slash pairing.

Some communities on Livejournal and websites and messge boards ban mentions of Wincest. For example Supernatural.tv says "This community as a whole has nothing against homosexuality, but this is a site about Supernatural--two brothers with no romantic feelings for each other--and changing their relationship changes the characters we tune in to watch every week. As another site states, fans borrow characters when they use them in creative work. If fans change major aspects of characters, they might as well create original characters."

Wait a second... Just which Winchesters are involved in Wincest?

In the early days of the Supernatural fandom (around the start of 2006), the term 'Wincest' referred to slash between any of the Winchester men - so John/Dean, John/Sam and John/Dean/Sam as well as Sam/Dean could be termed 'Wincest'.

However, as time went on and the fandom grew, the term 'Wincest' came to be most commonly used with (and recognised as) the Sam/Dean pairing only. Slash involving John was most commonly called Daddycest and occasionally 'Johnslash' or 'Johncest' but mostly just labeled with the particular pairing in individual stories.

There are also stories known as Winsister fic- AU stories involving one or more female Winchester siblings. Sometimes these characters are female versions of Sam and/or Dean (Genderswap) while in other cases they are entirely original characters. These stories may involve Het or Fem Slash

The season four episode 4.03 In The Beginning took Dean back in time to 1973 where he encounters his parents as young people. Dean comments that his mother is very attractive.

Dean: Sammy, wherever you are - Mom is a babe! I'm so going to hell. Again.

This led to some fiction featuring Dean/Mary.

Also in this episode, when Azazel possess Samuel Campbell, Mary's father, he kisses her to seal the deal to save John's life, technically providing a canonical example of Wincest. In the Season 5 episode 5.13 The Song Remains The Same, Sam also gets to meet both his parents.

Adam Milligan from 4.19 Jump The Shark is also a blood relative of the Winchesters, so Sam/Adam, for example, could also be called Wincest. The livejournal community Wincest has stated here that pairings involving Adam count by their definition of Wincest.

Wee!cest refers to Wincest where one or both of the boys are teenagers.

In Season 5, interest rose in the pairing of Michael and Lucifer - itself an incestuous pairing. The pairing often occurs when the angels are possessing their Vessels Sam and Dean, and so is a form of Wincest.

What Do those involved in the Show think?

Wincest got its first bit of official recognition at the Asylum fan convention in England in the Spring of 2007. When Jensen Ackles was asked what he thought of fan fiction, he replied:

"Some of those fan fictions have some very, very crazy ideas. And sometimes very...disturbing ideas. One of my favorites is, uh, Wincest...I-I only hope that my grandmother never reads those. Jared and I had a good laugh about that one. It was only brought to our attention because Kim Manners posted it. So um...that's that." Video of quote

When asked about Wincest and fanfiction at EyeCon April 2008, Jared proved diplomatic - and eloquent: "with fan fiction and RPGs, it's like what I was talking about earlier, that everyone's taking a part and they're not just watching it.. ..and they're really passionate about the show, and especially the fans of Supernatural it's great learning tool, and exploring tool to explore this world. So I'm supportive." Video of quote

Some fans have criticized those who bring the world of Wincest or fan fiction to the attention of those involved with the show, claiming it shouldn't be spoken of and should remain only between the fans.

In the March 2009 publication In the Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural by Benbella Books, Wincest is discussed in the essay "Scary Just Got Sexy" by Emily Turner.

In an article on Supernatural in Entertainment Weekly on 2 April, 2009, Wincest was described as a "unique and creepy type of fanfiction."

The same day as the EW article, the episode 4.18 The Monster At The End Of This Book aired in which specific mention was made of Sam/Dean fanfic.

Dean: There's Sam Girls and Dean Girls and...what's a slash fan?
Sam: As in Sam slash Dean, together
Dean: Like together, together? They do know we are brothers right?
Sam: Doesn't seem to matter.
Dean: Well that's just sick!

There followed much discussion in fandom whether this exchange indicated the Show's support or condemnation of Wincest. It is certainly the first time on a TV show that incestuous gay porn has been mentioned by the characters about whom it is written.

In Season Five. the character of Becky Rosen is introduced. 5.01 Sympathy For The Devil She is a fan of the "supernatural" novels and runs a website called morethanbrothers.net. She is first seen writing a Wincest fic which can be read here.

In 5.09 The Real Ghostbusters at the Supernatural Convention, the MC announces that there will be a session on "The homoerotic subtext of Supernatural". The two fanboys featured in the epsiode Demian and Barnes, who are role playing as Sam and Dean at the convention, are revealed at the enmd of the episode to be lovers.

Themes in Wincest

Stories which feature Sam and Dean in a sexual relationship cover a wide range of themes but many explore how and why Sam and Dean have developed a sexual relationship, and what that relationship is like. Themes in these stories include:

  • Incest taboo - "But we're brothers!" - Sam and Dean deal with their desire for each other
  • Porn - stories written solely for their erotic content with no concern for why two heterosexual brothers might want to have sex with each other.
  • We couldn't help ourselves - aka sex pollen, curses, or mystical forces make them do it, the brothers have to pretend to be gay for a case and things develop
  • And then they had sex - Sex is often used within slash fics in general to allow closure or resolution to conflict. In Wincest, the boys will have sex following an argument or fight. As such, they are often written to codas to episodes where conflict is unresolved.
  • Magical Healing Cock - sex is the cure-all when Sam or Dean have been injured, tortured or suffering more illness or upset.

For many stories featuring Wincest, the sexual relationship will simply be part of a broader tale which may fit into a variety of genres.

One of the most important aspect of Wincest fan fiction is the theme of "More than just brothers" - the ultimate trust. Part of the fascination with the relationship between the boys comes from the level of connection they seem to have (they are the only family left, they don't have any other meaningful relationships in their lives, no friends are there to stay, they can't reveal their true identity to others). Sam and Dean are portrayed as each others absolutes in the show, something that calls forward the ultimate, romantical love, the love that would give everything and the love that is everything.

It has been argued (see: Woledge, Elisabeth: Intimatopia. Genre Intersections Between Slash and the Mainstream, in: Hellekson, Karen/ Busse, Kristina: Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet, McFarland, 2006, p. 79 - 96) that the social closeness engenders intimacy, a certain kind of "oneness" between two men in a homosocial world. If we take a look at the world of Supernatural, the homosocial surroundings aren't to be missed: the mother died, the boys are brought up by their father, their most important friend and contact is Bobby and so on. In that, the sexual relationship is just a logical conclusion, or one might say, an extension of that perceived soulful "oneness". Shared physical intimacy is the last step in bringing these characters together as one, not just one mind and soul, but one body.

Fic Genres

There are many fics in which Sam adn Dean's relationship is simply part of a story that may cover any range of genres including Case Fic, Bodyswap, Genderswap, AUs, Future Fic, Pre-Series Fic, Crossover, Angst, Deathfic, Crack, Post-Apocalypse, Hurt-Comfort, PWP and any other genre one can think of.

Other Fanworks

Wincest also appears in various types of Fan Art including both digital manipulations, drawings and paintings. and Fan Vids which may imply a sexual relationship through clever editing, or manips. No cross stitch samplers have yet been seen, but are sure to exist.

Other Slash in the Supernatural fandom

Sam/Dean has been the dominant pairing since the fandom began. There have been few other continuing male characters in Supernatural for Sam or Dean to be "slashed" with although fics have paired them with everyone from Ash to Henrikson

The appearance in Season Four of Castiel led to an explosion in Dean/Castiel fiction, and occasional Shipping wars between fans who hold either pair as their OTP.

Occasionally the brothers will be slashed with OMCs or characters from other fandoms such as Murphy or Connor MacManus from The Boondock Saints or Lindsay McDonald from Angel. See also: crossovers). occasionally Sam or Dean are "slashed" with a character that was played by either Jensen Ackles or Jared Padalecki in another TV series or movie. (e.g. Sam/Jake from Devour, Sam/Alec from Dark Angel, Dean/Dean from Gilmore Girls or Sam/Priestly from Ten Inch Hero).

Other Use of Term

"On the imageboard 4chan incest is referred to as Wincest." reference, although this is not directly related to the Supernatural fandom.

See also

External Links