Toxic Masculinity in CW’s Supernatural

During the first few seasons of Supernatural, Dean Winchester is your stereotypical masculine guy. He wears an old leather jacket, lots of plaid, boots, drives a 1967 Chevy Impala, loves beers, burgers and pie. Not to mention he kills monsters for a living, always makes fun of his brother for being a nerd or eating salads, constantly represses his emotions and releases it as violence, and constantly flirts with women. With regards to “‘Toxic Masculinity’ in the Age of #MeToo: Ritual, Morality, and Gender Archetypes Across Cultures,” Veissiere (2018), he would be considered a wolf.

The way Dean’s character is constructed creates a perfect example of what toxic masculinity is, how it spreads, and what complications can arise from it. Dean’s behavior in the early seasons can be attributed to his dad John Winchester and his way of parenting. After Dean’s mom dies, John starts blaming himself and aims to become a stronger man who could take revenge for his wife’s death, and aims to raise his sons to be the same way so that they can continue the “family business”. Losing his wife makes John into what could be considered a toxic man, who passes these characteristics down to his son, Dean. As Dean was four years old when his mom died, he isn’t able to interact with a mother figure, so he follows his dad’s teachings and behavior. His leather jacket is his dad’s, his Impala is his dad’s, his tastes are his dad’s, and his behavior is his dad’s.

Dean isn’t like his dad however, as in although he has learned to be this kind of a man, Dean was once a loving and caring child, and he sometimes shows glances of this child as he takes care of his now grown little brother. Dean, although tries to be the man John Winchester was, realizes over the seasons that not only is he so much more than that, but also the fact that John was a terrible example of a father who had wrong ideas about what a man should be. Growing up in the environment that he has however, has made Dean’s life difficult sometimes. His inability to express his emotions in a healthy manner has hurt not only the people he has come to love the most, but himself as well.

The show is on its 14^th season and Dean has opened himself more and more to reveal a man who is more dimensional than the hyper male Dean had started off as. This is why Dean is such an important character for this topic because he shows great character development that finally portrays him as a man who is more than just the stereotypical idea of what a man should be. Over time, the wolf has finally become the sheepdog it should have been were it not for John, and although Dean still can’t help his instincts embedded in his mind sometimes, he’s trying to be better and that’s all that matters.