Nudity and Sexism in ‘Game of Thrones’

I just read a blog post by For Stories called “Game of Thrones: The Responsibilities of Female Representation“. It discusses the nudity and sexism in the Game of Thrones TV show, and I really just wanted to say a few things myself. (Don’t worry there won’t be any spoilers for those that haven’t seen it yet!)

I love the show and watch it religiously. I am in the process of reading the books as well but admittedly I haven’t got that far, although I do really enjoy them. I also feel the need to say (as I do every time GoT is mentioned) that I have met George R R Martin and it was amazing! Shook his hand 😀 I was such a little fan girl, he seemed pretty taken aback haha.

But anyway! Back to the matter at hand. The blog post I read (the link is in the introduction, so you guys can visit her blog and read it too, just click the title of her post) was essentially trying to suss out whether or not Game of Thrones could be classed as sexist, and if the female nudity was excessive and unnecessary.

Personally I have never really been bothered by the use of naked women in the show, I think that most of the time it is used as a tool for narrative or character development, and so can be understandable. To give an example, women in the Dothraki camp are often topless and dancing around. I don’t feel that this is just for the fun of having some boobs flying about though; it demonstrates the inequality within the Dothraki and is a simple visual tool used to show what kind of a society they are, which is important to the events that surround the Dothraki within the narrative. The nudity in the show can be a visual demonstration and a reminder that women and men in this world are not equal, and that women must fight harder than men to be taken seriously.

This being said, I do also agree with the original blogger in that I think the show wouldn’t lose anything if there were less naked women in the brothels. There isn’t always a need for them to be completely naked and such scenes would have the same impact if the women were clothed. In this way I can see the excessiveness and the unnecessarity of the nudity.

However, I do not view the show as being sexist or as promoting the subservience of women; in fact I think the opposite. Yes, it presents a sexist world in which such things happen, however this is very different to saying that it is the right way to act in real life. Although some of the women depicted are subservient to men through the use of nudity, generally these are sideline characters that aren’t really dwelled upon. The majority of the female characters that have central roles in the show are strong (mentally and/or physically), highly capable, and willing to stand up for what they want and believe in. They are strong female characters that do hold power over men, and that defy their stereotypical female role.

The post I am speaking about says that nudity should be used as a storytelling tool, rather than just a gimmick, and this is what would promote equality. I think this is a really good point – if there is nudity just for the sake of it, it becomes twisted and likely just an attempt at boosting ratings, which is definitely a misuse. I don’t feel that GoT does this excessively though. Yes, perhaps there is more nudity in the brothels than is strictly necessary, but I really don’t think that it is so over the top as to be classed as sexist (which by the way, is not exactly what the blog is saying, I don’t want to give the wrong impression).

To be honest, I think that in general a lot of people exaggerate the amount of nudity that actually occurs in Game of Thrones. Incidentally I also think this about the violence. Whenever I tell someone to watch it for the first time I am always asked “isn’t it just loads of naked women and people getting their heads chopped off?” And yes, of course there is a fair amount of nudity and head chopping, but it is so much more than that as well! These are by no means the defining characteristics of the show.

I think that the makers of any piece of media, be it film, TV or anything, do have a responsibility to not present sexist material and to not promote or condone such behaviour in the real world. Yes, I think there could be less unnecessarily naked women in GoT, however I feel that the fully fledged female characters and their strength outweigh this. Surely the characters that are given back story and a full and vital place in the narrative are more important to the way the show is perceived than the sideline characters that only exist in the screen’s periphery? Perhaps it is possible that I am being naïve and somewhat forgiving due to my love of the show, but I don’t see nudity as a distinct flaw, and I don’t think it warrants the title of sexist.