Feminism and fantasy fiction
So I'm halfway through season 3 of Game of Thrones (and I'll try not to give away too many spoilers) and while I'm really enjoying it (and OHMYGOD WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN?!) one thing that has always annoyed me about the show is the treatment of women.
Now my annoyances are not limited to Game of Thrones but perhaps to the genre of fantasy fiction in general. I'll try to explain my analysis comparing fantasy to science fiction. High fantasy fiction is very past oriented and science fiction is very future oriented... for obvious reasons. I suppose in the distant past of human history especially during Medieval European times, we feel that was a time of heroes, battles on horseback fought with swords, and before science was a thing so certain things seemed like magic- perfect fodder for a high fantasy setting. It's also been in the past that women were treated as objects and possessions and things to be married off to make alliances and bare heirs- another thing that has found its way into high fantasy fiction. However the thing that I've been thinking about lately is why is this sexist treatment of women the way fantasy fiction is? I used to read A LOT of high fantasy novels and series and women warriors, sailors, and the like were also anomalies in the fantasy worlds. When I think about it, I don't think I've ever read a work of high fantasy in which there was a woman in a very actiony role that wasn't commented upon. This is FANTASY- this is a made up realm with dragons, dwarves, elves, talking animals, and magic so WHY are gender roles still the same as in Reality? Or at least in the past. I mean fantasy is suppose to be very imaginative and creative- no one has ever thought to make a world in which men and women are equals and men can be caretakers and there are women soldiers running around? Or how about a place where men are the 2nd class gender to women? Or maybe a world where there are intersexed characters alongside men and women? Maybe make dragons intersexed?
The one thing that makes me appreciate science fiction a little more nowadays than fantasy is how (for the most part) women can have the same roles as men (though it would be nice to see a man do something that would normally be done by a woman, like a babysitter). Science fiction seems to be more open to the notion of women taking on more active roles, probably because in the future, it's suppose to be a more-enlightened time so who cares what gender you are as long as you can do the job? Now, if we could all be comfortable with the idea of men being in caretaker roles and then I'll be happy, but one thing at a time.
So yeah, I don't really like how the women in Game of Thrones just don't say "no, I don't want to marry [X]" or "I will not be your political pawn because I have my own goals I want to accomplish." Albeit, this would change the dynamic of GoT very much and I shouldn't blame the show because it's based upon books and maybe I shouldn't even blame George R.R. Martin because he's probably just following in the footsteps of fantasy works before him that make up the Canon of High Fantasy Literature. Well, maybe I can blame him because he could have broken the mold in this respect but he didn't. Or maybe I should just write my own fantasy novel :P. And if anyone has fantasy series recommendations that break this mold, please tell me about them. This is just my experience with fantasy literature.
Now my annoyances are not limited to Game of Thrones but perhaps to the genre of fantasy fiction in general. I'll try to explain my analysis comparing fantasy to science fiction. High fantasy fiction is very past oriented and science fiction is very future oriented... for obvious reasons. I suppose in the distant past of human history especially during Medieval European times, we feel that was a time of heroes, battles on horseback fought with swords, and before science was a thing so certain things seemed like magic- perfect fodder for a high fantasy setting. It's also been in the past that women were treated as objects and possessions and things to be married off to make alliances and bare heirs- another thing that has found its way into high fantasy fiction. However the thing that I've been thinking about lately is why is this sexist treatment of women the way fantasy fiction is? I used to read A LOT of high fantasy novels and series and women warriors, sailors, and the like were also anomalies in the fantasy worlds. When I think about it, I don't think I've ever read a work of high fantasy in which there was a woman in a very actiony role that wasn't commented upon. This is FANTASY- this is a made up realm with dragons, dwarves, elves, talking animals, and magic so WHY are gender roles still the same as in Reality? Or at least in the past. I mean fantasy is suppose to be very imaginative and creative- no one has ever thought to make a world in which men and women are equals and men can be caretakers and there are women soldiers running around? Or how about a place where men are the 2nd class gender to women? Or maybe a world where there are intersexed characters alongside men and women? Maybe make dragons intersexed?
The one thing that makes me appreciate science fiction a little more nowadays than fantasy is how (for the most part) women can have the same roles as men (though it would be nice to see a man do something that would normally be done by a woman, like a babysitter). Science fiction seems to be more open to the notion of women taking on more active roles, probably because in the future, it's suppose to be a more-enlightened time so who cares what gender you are as long as you can do the job? Now, if we could all be comfortable with the idea of men being in caretaker roles and then I'll be happy, but one thing at a time.
So yeah, I don't really like how the women in Game of Thrones just don't say "no, I don't want to marry [X]" or "I will not be your political pawn because I have my own goals I want to accomplish." Albeit, this would change the dynamic of GoT very much and I shouldn't blame the show because it's based upon books and maybe I shouldn't even blame George R.R. Martin because he's probably just following in the footsteps of fantasy works before him that make up the Canon of High Fantasy Literature. Well, maybe I can blame him because he could have broken the mold in this respect but he didn't. Or maybe I should just write my own fantasy novel :P. And if anyone has fantasy series recommendations that break this mold, please tell me about them. This is just my experience with fantasy literature.