WARNING: This list contains many instances of rape and other uncomfortable instances of sexual violence.
Feminism and Game of Thrones. These are things that often don't get along, and are thought to coexist rather than supply each other with content and ideologies that can propel both into a more all-encompassing world. The fictional land of Westeros may have dragons and Greyscale (not the filter), but it's view on gender politics is skewed extremely towards favoring the male side when it comes to power, strength, and wit. Sound familiar to anyone? The tragedies and inequalities female characters go through in the show propel them to become the strong women they are now that season 6 is complete. The show does not at all have a perfect view of feminism, which awakens that voice inside of me that wants to yell and scream. They are ups and downs, and I would argue this past season has been the best for women so far.
1. Kahl Drogo and Daenerys Targarean
Oh, Kahl Drogo and Dany. They were a couple forced together that were actually able to make their arranged marriage work for a few seasons there. But that's not why there's beef with the Kahl.
In the first episode of the first season Dany marries Kahl Drogo, essentially the king of a very violence-driven clan of people, the Dothraki. And on their wedding night, a terrified and very young Dany is raped by her husband. And then a few episodes later they are falling in love.
It doesn't make sense, I admit. But I eventually ended up liking Kahl Drogo when I ignored the fact that he raped Dany. And she did too.
Which is the problem. WE WERE ABLE TO FORGET. Dany never did anything about it and, admittedly , did the best of the situation with what she could. It was never viewed by anyone besides the audience as something very, very wrong because we could see it happening.
2. Game of Thrones has "too much rape".
This sentence gets me all up in a tizzy, because unfortunately even today most people don't understand the terrible experience of being raped unless they have been themselves.
You are correct. The show has rape in it. It has a lot more than any show I have ever watched. It is all male on female rape, and there is no curtain to hide behind when it's happening on screen. It's hard to watch, and people don't want to watch it. And that's why you have to.
I guarantee you there is more rape on your college campus. Or where you went to college. And it's real for many people around you whether you are aware of it or not. And it may be real to you, and when we start understanding that is when we can finally work towards actually equality when it comes to sexual violence.
You don't like watching rape because it's uncomfortable and scary and you don't like it. I refuse to accept people that think the rape on this show is ridiculous when they are willing to sit around and let rape happen to people all over the world everyday. Once we start working on that, I can accept a talk about the issues of having rape be mentioned and shown on television.
The issue GOT has with rape is that they are bad with dealing with it after it happens. And I mean bad. Dany and Cersei's rapes are honestly the worst, because those couples stay together and never address the fact that, um, KAHL DROGO AND JAMIE ARE RAPISTS.
3. Speaking of Jamie...
Ok, granted I never was in support of his sexual and romantic relationship with Cersei, his twin sister, and don't know anybody that does. Also not a fan of Cersei herself, but her rape by her boyfriend/brother next to the dead body of their son makes NO SENSE.
Like, why? There was no reason. And again, it is ignored by everyone in the show, including Cersei. And she's a woman who knows how to hold a grudge and there is no reason for it in the storytelling. The Cersei I know and hate would more likely have killed someone for doing a wrong against her than ignoring it completely. It messes with the characters motives in all other aspects of their lives, and although I'm aware the audience is supposed to know their relationship isn't perfect, this was overboard, gross and ridiculous.
4. Sansa
Ok, before we get all "this wasn't in the book therefore it is bad", I would like to remind everyone I am talking about HBO's series Game of Thrones, not the book series it is based on. Aside from that, this was awful. It was hard and it was scary and executed poorly. The rape was more about Theon than Sansa, who was the one being raped. Disgusting.
However, throughout the seasons the show has gotten better with its treatment of female characters (I didn't have the strength to mention Ros in my list, but basically she's literally just on the show to be naked). Sansa's rape was treated poorly, but the aftermath is much better. And this is the point at which people will disagree with me, and that's ok.
And I would like to point out that the writers do better with this issue, but are still not perfect.
Sansa is emotionally changed by the violence she experiences. It makes her tougher and colder and increases her desire for freedom. But most importantly, she knows she doesn't deserve what she is getting when her husband Ramsay Snow/Bolton (long story) rapes her on a regular basis, which no female character has done before in this show. The Unsullied, Theon and Varys seem aware they did not deserve the sexual violence done against them, as they should.
Sansa helps get not only herself but Theon out of Ramsay's clutches. This is not to go without mentioning that Ramsay commits sexual violence against Theon as well, cutting off parts of his body including his penis and torturing him until Theon was clearly a broken man. Sansa, a young woman, must convince Theon they need to escape, as he feels he is too tortured to ever try to leave the abusive relationship he has with Ramsay.
Sansa and those she trusts never ignore the fact that she was raped. It is there everyday, and it is never viewed as something that is allowed to happen or can be ignored. Sansa's family and supporters wanted justice for her, and she got it.
If we live in a world where young women are raped at the rate that they are, they should be feeling like Sansa did afterwards. They should be sad and changed by it, and then I would hope they try to find justice and identify their rapists for who they really are. This is an extremely generalized comment and I admit that, but abusive relationships are real and are still hidden from the world. No one has told me what to do if my significant other is awful to me, so I would hope I would do what Sansa does and get out instead of feeling lost and staying with said person.
Sansa's rape is very important. Women are raped by their boyfriends and husbands everyday. And it is ignored because those women are tied to those men in the eyes of society. Sansa gets people to think a different way about Ramsay.
Sansa is also a character that is constantly worried about rape and sex. Shortly after becoming engaged to Prince Joeffrey, she freaks out when she gets her first period because it means she will have to be married to a man who she knows to be violent and cruel. She is then forced to married Tyrion, much older and not her type, who thankfully does not want to sleep with her. Her marriage to Ramsay is awful, as is Littlefinger's obsession with her. But Sansa has realized she is a sexual object her whole life and I believe is learning how to change that for her, and for other girls in her world. Her redemption, and storylines that do not help to further the development of male characters, show me that Game of Thrones could be a more feminist-friendly place.
5. So much more.
There are so many more instances of rape and sexual violence against women in this show, including Cersei's walk of shame and the intense amount of unnecessary naked women in the first seasons of the show. The show has learned to deal and change as the audience points out issues with it, and that at least is good.
There are shiny bright points in the show as well. Arya kicks ass and is a wonderful thing to behold. Danerys and her freeing of slaves is encouraging. Cersei's lust for power and control conquers any man's, as well as the calm she displays over an emotional and impulsive brain.
There is so much more wrong and right with the show that I couldn't fit in here, but there is a struggle when you love something you feel so strongly against sometimes. My hope is the show continues to go in the more pro-women direction that it started to this season.
