The Game of Boobs: Nudity, Sex and Representation of Women on the Game of Thrones.

There's been a lot of hubbub about the "excessive" female nudity and explicit portrayal of sex in GoT all over the internet and mass media too. A lot of people are saying it's overboard, unnecessary and out right offensive. Some even making veiled and not so veiled allusions to the creators of the show being misogynists.

As a outspoken, female fan of both the books and the tv show I adamantly disagree.

Someone compared GoT and Spartacus, saying that at least Spartacus shows naked males bodies as often as naked female bodies, (which is actually NOT true). I will argue that GoT is on par with Spartacus with how it represents women and utilizes sexual content. They both do a great job of showing the ugly, less erotic side of sex/nudity. We see it shown as commerce, manipulation and humiliation, as well as showing emotional intimacy through sex.

In fact, I would argue that sex and female nudity in GoT has been used rather effectively and subtextual narrative, giving us insight into characters and their impact on those around them. For example, it is used to reveal the loathsome nature of certain characters. Joffrey, Theon and Little fingers to name a few. Seeing Joffery's treatment of the two prostitutes after his public humiliation of Sansa seemed to be a very pointed statement about how truly damaged he is and the real danger that Sansa is in by being with him. When a boy his age is faced with two women ready to do what every he wants, one even being naked and all he wants to do is torture them…yeah, that says something. Theon fucking the daughter of a ship captain in a disgustingly graphic way, while telling her to keep her mouth shut to cover her bad teeth and disregarding her pleas to be taken as his salt wife…yeah that says something too. Little Finger, shit, dudes his treatment of EVERY OTHER WOMAN BUT CAT tells us so much about who he is and how complex and fucked up he is.

One of the things I have always loved about the ASOIAF books is how it shows the hidden power of women. I'm not just talking about empowerment, I'm talking about the DAMAGE that women can inflict upon the men in their lives. The damage that the absence of their mother wrought upon all three of the Lannister siblings (Tyrion, Cersei and Jaime) is evident in their relationships with each other and choices they make during the corse of the series. Cersei's mistreatment of Tyrion, manipulation (and sexual exploitation) of Jaime and coddling of Joffery horribly damaged all of them. Cat's denial and inability to address Little Finger's feelings for her keeps him in the torturous delusion about them, that damages all his relationships with other women and could be argued is the root of her husbands eventual death.

I'm not saying the root of all evil in the world of GoT is the fault of women, but rather that GRRM shows the IMPACT of women in his world more fully than any other creator I have ever seen. This includes positive impacts as well. Like Cat's positive effect upon her children. The strength and love she gave to both her sons and daughters help them through the horrors they endure throughout the series.

[I know there is debates in the ASOIAF fandom about her choices, but no one can deny that the Stark children are resourceful and resilient as fuck, and you can't say that all of it is because they had Ned as their father. In fact, you could argue that in the end Ned proved to be far less resourceful and adaptable than any of his children, so a large part of that must have come from their mother. A woman who after the death of the man she loved, dutiful moves to a strange land to marry a complete stranger, her beloved's brother. Yet through all that Cat found love and made a life for herself, and her family. But I digress...]

I will also argue that we get plenty of powerful women in respectfully erotic scenes as well. Take the transformation of Dany and Drogo's relationship. At the start we have her naked and vulnerable, but when the power shifts in their relationship she is on top, her body is covered and yet it is one of the most erotic sex scene in the entires series. Dany's effect upon Drogo powerful and immediate. Through that scene we are shown (as is Dany) that her strength and courage can have a positive effect upon the men around her and herself as well. Let's not forget that is was another WOMAN that empowered her with this knowledge.

The women of ASOIAF & GoT are PRESENT both as victors, villains and victims, naked or clothed in armor they are fully realized. So I don't mind the Tits and Ass, because it comes with Swords and Dragons. Because woman are all these things and part of fair representations is the FULL representation of the female experience. Queens, Whores, Swordwomen, Virginal Maidens and even rape victims are all part of the world of ASOIAF & GoT and on this show ALL their stories are told.

After all, in real life nudity isn’t always sexual, consensual or respectful. If the creators of GoT are attempting to show a 3D view of this world, these cultures and characters, part of what that entails is showing the inherent sexism and exploitation of women to better highlight when they are strong and empowered.

I’m not saying that GoT or HBO are perfect, but I also don't believe that they are misogynists. I think that as we examine the shows representation of women, we should do so with an objective eye and look at the story/character based reasons for the nudity and sex. We should be the last people to look at a naked woman and only see her breasts. As women we know better than anyone that a every breast is connected to a human being with a name and soul. We know that we have more meaning and value than just sexual objects. I believe that the creators of the show know that too.

So, put down the score cards and enjoy the show. That's kind of the point of watching in the first place, isn't it?