Game of Thrones, Popular Television, and Power-feminism

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to critically interrogate the notion of power-feminism from a contemporary perspective, with a focus on the strong female characters in the television show, Game of Thrones. By examining how feminist discourses are both reproduced and subverted in the show, this essay argues that the labelling of contemporary media productions as feminist in response to the spread of feminist ideas belies the reactionary politics of power-feminist narratives, whose celebration of the empowerment of women often reinforces the gender dichotomy by encouraging the view that women should behave in more masculine ways.