Game of Thrones Doesn’t Care About Female Fans

If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, either of the books or the show, you can’t help but have heard about the “rape as plot device” arguments that have swirled around the show, almost from the beginning. It has brought us to the point where The Mary Sue has decided to no longer promote or review Game of Thrones, a decision that, for a geek website, hits them right in the pocketbook. But as a feminist website, they felt like their hand was forced by this most recent episode. To quote: “There’s only so many times you can be disgusted with something you love before you literally can’t bring yourself to look at it anymore. That is where I currently find myself in relation to Game of Thrones.” My corner of the Internet was on fire with this. And the more I read my friends’ reactions, by and large as horrified and upset as The Mary Sue’s, the more angry I became. I don’t watch the show because the violence the show glorifies isn’t my cup of tea, and I don’t read the books, even as an avid fantasy reader. I actually haven’t read a book by a white male author in more than two years. There came a point in my reading career where I refused to spend my entertainment time in the fantasy worlds of white men. The more I did so, the more I actively sought out books by Women of Color in particular, the fewer regrets I had with my reading choices. I don’t read GRRM not because his books aren’t good — I’m assured by people whose opinions I trust that he is a great writer — I don’t read GRRM beca…