Sexual Controversy
Most societies are held together by certain moral standards, which seem to apply to especially to women. In HBO’s Game of Thrones, however, where the story is set in an entirely fictional medieval universe, little to none of these expectations apply. Debra Ferreday introduces the idea how
“when media representations are deeply enmeshed with cultural practices through which we make sense of everyday lives and of lived experience, including the experience of living in societies where the ever-present threat of sexual violence is lived alongside a proliferation of media images of violated female bodies” (23).
The thrilling characters and unexpected plots have made this show one of the most successful series in television history. There are difficult scenes of women being rape, but there are also scenes where young men meet the same fate. One character in particular, Margaery Tyrell, has become the center of debate in terms of her questionably abusive behavior towards boys of younger age. While it isn’t accurate to label Margaery as a child abuser, molester, or anything of the nature, she nevertheless straddles the boundaries between right and wrong in playing the game of thrones. The show depicts a relentless chase and constant feuding over the throne to rule over Westeros and it is safe to argue that Margaery does whatever she has to do to get ahead. Margaery is arguably the least brutal and one of the more moral ones to play the game. Margaery is in no way a sexual abuser because it was both socially acceptable and encouraged to be married off to bear their partner’s children, it is a common tradition for a man and a wife to sleep on the same bed, and there are no laws that determine the rightfulness of an individual’s actions, only the question of morality.
Game of Thrones is in a completely fictional universe that is separated from our reality, this means that the cultural and moral values that are common today, does not apply to the Westeros’ society. It is wrong, without question for something like this to happen today. However, from what we have seen in Game of Thrones, it is very common to be married off for political gains. Marrying for love within the settings of Game of Thrones is very rare, except for Robb Stark. A political marriage is valued much higher than a marriage for loving during the Westeros society. Tim Jones explains in the chapter Margaery for Queen, that “Sexual consent laws are different across the globe and relationships that we’d quickly denounce now would’ve been understood as completely normal for centuries. Royal marriages with a cast age gap, in particular, were an utterly standard means for aristocratic families on the periphery of power to maneuver themselves closer to the throne” (95). This is clearly shown through the reactions of the people and the council. Margaery has not done anything outrageous that is being frowned upon by the people of Westeros. It is easy to learn ab...
