Entertainment
If you're anything like me, then you're excited as all hell for the return of Game of Thrones, on April 24 . Many would argue that the show is not exactly a shining example of feminism, especially with it's treatment of female characters. It can be hard to rally against the naysayers and defend one of the most beloved shows on television, especially coming from a feminist point of view. Yet, I still find arguing that Game of Thrones is totally feminist, and it's Westeros that suffers from misogyny and not the show itself.
Yes, it can make you squirmy and yes, it can leave you asking for a more female-friendly world. But when you stop looking at the whole, and focus instead on the individual characters and even from different geography within Westeros, you get a much different picture.
Both the books and the show feature strong, complex, vulnerable, flawed, and intelligent female characters, each coming from varying points of view. Each one trying to survive and excel in a world where the odds are stacked against them. If that's not feminist then I don't know what is.
Still don't believe me? Here are seven times Game of Thrones was feminist AF and you didn't even realize it.
5
The Stark Family
Though Eddard Stark is long gone and the family is scattered to the winds, I believe the Starks to be one of the most feminist families in all of Westeros. Ed often took council from his wife Catelyn Stark, a trend that continued with his sons. Though the men still technically held the power, they would go to their female counterparts and take heed of their advice.
The Stark daughters are no wilting flowers either. Though Sansa Stark is more feminine than her younger, rowdier sister Arya, she is still a resolved young woman who takes her queues to survive in a dangerous world and makes calculated risks to keep herself both safe and ready to face another day.
Arya is independent and almost fearless at times. She has found herself ensconced in peril and mystery, and continues on unfazed. Her older half-brother, Jon Snow, and her father both fostered her interest in swordplay which has helped her along on her tumultuous journey.
6
The Wildlings
In the show, viewers meet Osha, Gilly and Ygritte, three wildling women (or as they refer to themselves as, the Free Folk) who hail from different regions. Each one is distinctly their own person and raised far away from the conventions of Westeros where women are not seen as equals.
7
Queen Daenerys Targaryen
Missandei: "Valar morghulis."
Daenerys: "Yes. All men must die, but we are not men."
Can we just leave this one plain and simple? Dany is the flippin Mother of Dragons. She's a Queen learning her craft in a far off land, before she takes her rightful place as heir to the throne of the Seven Kingdoms in Westeros.
Daenerys is young, resolved, and eager to learn. She wants to do what is just and right by her people. Although she has stumbled along the way she picks herself up with dignity and does her best to acknowledge when she is wrong and correct herself for future trials. What more could we ask for in a Queen?