Selfcest

About

Selfcest, a portmanteau of the words "self" and "incest," refers to the act of physically having sex or engaging in sexual acts with yourself or an alternate version of yourself, often by way of cloning, visiting an alternate universe or time travel. The idea of selfcest has been explored in pop culture, fan art and fanfiction throughout the 2000s, becoming increasingly popularized throughout the 2010s. It is often the subject of moral debate as to whether or not selfcest is considered incest. Selfcest is also related to Rule 63, which claims that for every fictional character, there exists an opposite-gender counterpart.

History

It is unknown who originally coined the term "selfcest." The act is joked about in a number of films and novels from the 1990s and 2000s, including 1999's Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (shown below) and 2000's 16th Day according to TV Tropes.^[1] One example of the act comes from the 2003 novel The Time Traveler's Wife, where the character Henry travels back to his own bedroom a few months prior and it's implied he helps himself masturbate.^[2]

Some of the earliest fan art depicting selfcest can be found on DeviantArt, posted between 2007 and 2009. The majority of the artwork depicts anime characters in loving embraces with themselves. For example, on August 23rd, 2007, DeviantArt^[3] user kirui posted artwork showing Hibari with himself from Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, gaining over 830 favorites and 36,000 views in 15 years (shown below, left). On March 7th, 2009, Deviant Art^[4] user kaiser-mony posted a piece of art showing the warden from Superjail! with himself, gaining over 13,000 views in 13 years (shown below, right).

Online Presence

Examples of selfcest fan content can be found across social media, including Tumblr^[6] and Deviant Art.^[7] In November 2009, Cracked^[8] published an article titled "So You're Locked In a Room With Your Clone: Fight or F#@k?" On September 5th, 2020, YouTuber sydsnap published a video on the topic where she explores "selfcest" tags, gaining over 681,000 views in two years (shown below).

Loki x Sylvie

In June 2021, the Disney+ series Loki aired. In the series, Loki is tasked with tracking down Sylvie, an alternate, female version of himself. The two end up falling in love and kissing in the finale (shown below).

The scene sparked debates about selfcest and whether or not it was morally okay for Loki to have a relationship with an alternate female version of himself.^[5]

#Loki spoilers
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fans: please dont make loki and sylvie kiss, its weird since they are literally the same person

marvel: pic.twitter.com/fNk7nctoDa

— fadz (@Gold_bear190) July 14, 2021

Related Memes

Now Neither Of Us Will Be Virgins!

Now Neither Of Us Will Be Virgins! refers to a series of images where a person meets their clone or alternate universe, captioned, "Now neither of us will be virgins," implying that they are about to engage in sexual intercourse. The memes began in 2011 with a drawing of Eggman, inspiring variations over the following years (examples shown below).

Would You Fuck A Clone Of Yourself?

Would You Fuck A Clone Of Yourself? refers to a Buzzfeed article that asked this question to its audience and offered several arguments both for and against such an act. These answers have been photoshopped onto images of fictional characters, meant to illustrate how each character would respond to the question, describing key characters as seen by their fandom.

Search Interest

External References