Women in Game of Thrones: Power, Conformity and Resistance

Game of Thrones, one of the hottest series on television, leaves hundreds of critics divided on how "feminist" the show really is. Certainly the female characters, strong and weak, embody a variety of archetypes--widow queens, warrior women, damsels in distress, career women, priestesses, crones, mothers and maidens. However, the problem is that most of them play a single role without nuance--even the "strong women" have little to do besides strut about as one-note characters. This book analyzes the women and their portrayals one by one, along with their historical inspirations. Accompanying issues in television studies also appear, from the male gaze to depiction of race. How these characters are treated in the series and how they treat themselves becomes central, as many strip for the pleasure of men or are sacrificed as pawns. Some nude scenes or moments of male violence are fetishized and filmed to tantalize, while others show the women's trauma and attempt to identify with the scene's female perspective. The key is whether the characters break out of their traditional roles and become multidimensional.

• Winter is Coming: The Medieval World of Game of Thrones
• Women of Ice and Fire: Gender, Game of Thrones and Multiple Media Engagements
• Mastering the Game of Thrones: Essays on George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire
• Game of Thrones versus History: Written in Blood
• Inside HBO's Game of Thrones: Seasons 3 & 4
• Chivalry in Westeros: The Knightly Code of a Song of Ice and Fire
• Game of Thrones Psychology: The Mind is Dark and Full of Terrors (Popular Culture Psychology)