Why Is It Weird for Girls to Like Game of Thrones?

I saw this article, Why Girls Hate Game of Thrones, not too long ago, but I refuse to think that it's written with any real convictions. This has to be one of those controversial articles written with the sole purpose of creating arguments on the 'net that consequently generate traffic for the site. The woman who wrote this is channeling the stereotypical popular kid from high school who can't stand the site of, dare I say it, NERDS. But that's not what really irks me about this article. I have to say, I don't really mind people calling me out for being a nerd and acting all disgusted because I know they're just missing out on all the fun I get to have with my nerdy friends (e. g., watching/reading/discussing Game of Thrones, playing video games, discussing astrophysics and technology, or entertaining ideas like the zombie apocalypse). It's the fact that people write articles that follow the theme of girls wanting to be nerds or enjoy nerdy things are somehow weird or not normal that I get me feeling a bit upset. In fact, after I read that article, I wondered if people like this really exist.

I think one of  the worst parts of this article is the fact that it isn't even that long but it still manages to sound amazingly sexist. All it contains is a picture of Tyrion from Season 3, two bulleted lists, and some text to fill up some more space. The author is writing from the point of view that all girls hate Game of Thrones for five reasons: it's "gross" and has incest, it's too hard to follow all the characters and plot lines, it is reminiscent of "kids that used to play magic cards in the cafeteria" and people that attend renaissance fairs, there's lots of naked girls to attract the guys, and people lose many body parts throughout the show. I only have two answers that I want to give to these points: a) the story takes place in a medieval setting so many of these types of things happened in real life just a couple hundred years ago, and b) not all girls are swooning damsels that feint at the sight of blood and can't remember key plot points. I think Ygritte has a little something to back that last point up.

It's thought processes like the one in this article that make people think it's alright to talk down to people that are called nerds or identify with the term. On a slightly different note, I'd like to ask how she expects someone to try to explain the different storylines of GoT by using Venn diagrams. I feel like there are much more useful ways to go about that. It also happens that I am a girl that loves the complications, overlaps, twists, and turns that are prevalent in Game of Thrones, but that's a personal example and if anyone else likes to discuss the theories in this book series, please talk to me-- I love the theory side of this series!

Anyway, the article goes on to be even more sexist with its second list of how to get girls to watch the show such as highlighting the "romantic crap," talking about the gay characters, and not discussing the incest. The last point specifically references a part of the show that the author even gets wrong (I'm pretty sure she means Podrick, but she is right about Tyrion in the first half of the sentence). Her parting advice is the idea that if you're girl that won't watch Game of Thrones, then Mad Men should work as a backup because all girls love Don Draper. I would just like to point out that Don is quite the womanizer and isn't exactly the kind of man most girls would call "good boyfriend material."

I guess all I'm trying to say is that gender shouldn't decide who can or cannot be a nerd (embrace the term, guys. I don't think it's a negative term anymore). Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't understand the intricacies of a book/TV series and therefore I don't like it. I've also heard people then go on to say this series is demeaning to all women and my only reaction is to laugh at them. So many of George R. R. Martins's characters are strong women such as Daenerys (everyone's fav), Arya, and Ygritte, just to name a few. The thing about GRRM's writing is that every character struggles with something in their lives that makes them choose to be who they are and therefore no one is truly good or evil. Jamie Lannister anyone? I'd would also point out this article that is an interview with Martin and how he upholds feminist ideals, but ultimately he treats men and women the same. My favorite quote he has about his female characters comes from an interview with George Stroumboulopoulos (yeah, what a name) who asked him, "There's one thing that is also very interesting about your books, I noticed, is that you write women very well. You write them very different... Where does that come from?" GRRM replied: "You know... I've always considered women to be people." Everyone laughs at the line, but hey, it's true. He elaborates on his answer a little more in the video at around 18:30.

So quit encapsulating girls (or anyone really) under one stereotype! In this post, I'm especially defending girls that enjoy activities associated with nerdiness, such as fictional literature/media, science, math, or technology since that's what I was thinking about as I wrote this. And at least take some time to learn what you're writing about because this author did a poor job describing anything remotely like Game of Thrones  and instead focused on small points in a vast world of other more enlightening topics to discuss. I mean, this series even makes politics interesting! So I say let's just get together and nerd out instead of bickering about who can join in on the conversation.