‘Game of Thrones’ Author Says ‘Misogynistic’ Themes Due to World History – Newsweek

Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin has defended the upcoming prequel series House of the Dragon against accusations of sexism, claiming "history" is more "misogynistic."

The famed writer was speaking at the San Diego Comic-Con event where he was questioned about sexist tropes within his fictional world.

House of the Dragon, which stars the likes of Paddy Considine, Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke and Matt Smith, begins on HBO on Sunday August 21, 2022.

During a panel for House of the Dragon on Saturday, Martin discussed how the show resembled real-life history and was asked why Westeros was so against having a queen on the Iron Throne.

"I get inspiration from history, and then I take elements from history and I turn it up to 11," Martin told the San Diego gathering. "Games of Thrones is, as many people have observed, based very loosely on the War of the Roses. And this show [House of the Dragon] is based on an earlier period in history called the Anarchy."

"I pilfered freely from real history when Henry I, when his only legitimate son drowned while trying to cross the English Channel, he was left with only one legitimate child, Matilda." Martin goes on to explain how the powers that be in England prevented Matilda from taking the throne as Stephen of Blois arrived to take the throne instead, which would lead to the civil war called the Anarchy.

"So that was the inspiration there. I don't think Westeros is particularly more anti-woman or misogynistic than real life, than what we call history."

The Game of Thrones series has had multiple accusations of sexism thrown at it for over a decade now, since the first TV series launched on HBO in 2011. GoT has a passionate fanbase with many sharing their opinions of Martin's comments on social media. His assertion that neither the show nor his books are sexist was backed up by fans.

"One of the things he's actually good at as a writer is giving every character their time to shine, regardless of gender," wrote DrGutz on Reddit. Harsimaja's take received a lot of upvotes, as they implied Martin's portrayal in a necessary one. "Wouldn't making his medieval world an egalitarian utopia be whitewashing history?" they asked.

"GoT is full of powerful women, anyone who thinks the show is anti women is an idiot," wrote iliveinablackhole_ as NLwino added: "Game of Thrones is anti everybody. Especially someone that managed to get on the throne."

Over on Twitter @contrarah disagreed though, pointing out that the first chapter of the first book is "full of nipple twisting."

They continued: "Let's be real here, misogynistic succession battles based on fantasy history make great drama, but I don't see an influx of TV shows where all the Queens are warring because they've prevented a rightful male heir take power."

Game of Thrones faced backlash for sexist themes in the show throughout its run. This included its depiction of violence towards women, sexual violence, and excessive nudity, as suggested by many across social media and by PhD student Diana Marques who published "Power and the Denial of Femininity in Game of Thrones" at the University of Lisbon. She argued that strong female characters in the show were being denied their femininity at the expense of their strength.

Actress Emilia Clarke, who played Daenerys Targaryen, weighed in on the sexism debate surrounding the show in 2016. She told Entertainment Weekly: "It's depiction of women in so many different stages of development. There are women depicted as sexual tools, women who have zero rights, women who are queens but only to a man, and then there are women who are literally unstoppable and as powerful as you can possibly imagine."

She continued: "So it pains me to hear people taking Thrones out of context with anti-feminist spinbecause you can't do that about this show. It shows the range that happens to women, and ultimately shows women are not only equal, but have a lot of strength."

Newsweek has reached out to George R.R. Martin's representatives for further comment,

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'Game of Thrones' Author Says 'Misogynistic' Themes Due to World History - Newsweek