--Joffrey Bratheon, Game of Thrones (season three, episode two)
"You are small men. None of you are fit to lead the Dothraki. But I am."
--Daenerys Targaryen, Game of Thrones (season six, episode four)
The world of Game of Thrones shares some of the darker aspects of our world. One of these is a patriarchal social structure that favors men over women, one that views women as less capable of general leadership because they were born with certain genitalia. Now partway through season seven, I've seen plenty of examples of patriarchy manifesting itself in the continents of Westeros and Essos, the manifestations ranging from relatively mild (although all sexism is sexism) to severe. In some of the cultures of the show, patriarchy just means that women are discouraged from pursuing "untraditional" occupations, and in some it means that women are subjected to rape.
An example of the latter is the Dothraki society that Daenerys is placed in. Married for political purposes to the leader of a militaristic, brutal clan, she is raped by her husband Drogo for a time. While he lives, he is the Khal, and she is the Khaleesi, both titles of high authority. After he dies, however, she is told that the other Khals don't like the thought of a female leading a khalasar (a group of Dothraki), and she is dismissed several seasons later when she speaks to Khal Moro as if she is an influential leader. She ends up killing him and taking control of his khalasar, ironically. Throughout the series Daenerys becomes a powerful queen, and the head of a strong army, by persisting despite the cultural bias against her leadership as soon as her husband dies.
Arya Stark and Brienne of Tarth are two other prominent examples of women who refuse to submit to the gender-biased demands of others. Arya, despite being born as daughter to Lord Stark, does not want to grow up to be the lady of a castle; she wants to be a knight. And later on a powerful female warrior is introduced to the story: Brienne of Tarth, who seems to have faced jeers and sexism all of her life. Being much taller than a lot of other men and women, she is ridiculed for her size. Being a woman, she is verbally put down for wearing armor. When Arya and Brienne eventually meet, Arya says that her father would not encourage her desire to learn combat, since fighting is "for boys," and Brienne says her father told her the same. But her father eventually trained her anyway.
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| Arya Stark and Brienne of Tarth sparring. (Photo credit: DigitalMajority on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC-SA) |
How do roles get assigned by gender and not according to individual talent or personality type? Because of asinine assumptions about someone's mind based on the fact that he or she has a certain body. People like the character Shae, telling Sansa Stark the fallacious lie that "Men only want one thing from a pretty girl," perpetuate some of the stereotypes that have wide and destructive social ramifications. Idiotic statements like this reinforce belief in nonexistent nonphysical gender differences in the minds of the irrational, which are then perceived as the basis for social roles, which people are then pressured into. In Westeros one of the seemingly widespread beliefs is that women are weak, and thus only men can or should lead, for instance. And that belief survives because of stereotypes and social conditioning. Wherever people realize that men and women do not have gender-specific personality traits or skills, people realize that there is absolutely no foundation for gender roles in society at large--or in the family.
Game of Thrones does far more than just portray in-universe stereotypes and sexist cultural expectations (many of which align with those in our world), though. It not only shows people who do not fit into the assumption-riddled frameworks of others, like Arya and Brienne, but it also shows other people living in a manner free of sexism. For instance, a man named Jorah follows Daenerys out of legitimate admiration and love for her as a person, returning to her after being sent away multiple times, and Prince Theon Greyjoy challenges his entire culture by declaring that his sister Yara is the rightful ruler of the salt throne (season six, episode five). Every Jorah or Theon makes it easier for the next Arya or Brienne to be honest with herself and with those around her, simplifying the process of defying arbitrary cultural whims for men and women alike.
It is characters like these that best show how patriarchal social systems are subverted, alongside or short of intellectual revolution: when men in patriarchal societies see that women are not unworthy of their devotion and recognition just because they are women, and when they openly acknowledge that women are no less fit than men to occupy the political and social sphere.
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| Arya Stark during a period of temporary blindness. (Photo credit: www.tricksware.com on Visualhunt / CC BY-NC-ND) |
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