Yaaaas Queen! – Daenerys Targaryen As A Contemporary Feminist

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Jacob Reeves (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
Advisor
Donna Lillian

Abstract: This essay examines Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones through the lens of contemporary feminism. Her character’s use of the systems available to her to change those same systems represents contemporary feminist characteristics, while also helping to shape and drive contemporary feminism into a more solidified theory and movement. In her journey from property to queen, Daenerys gains agency through sexual control, then uses that agency to create opportunity for others, ultimately freeing her people from oppression. At times, she steps close to white saviorism, but she confronts her privilege and recognizes the need for intersectional politics for her followers. She redefines what it means to be a woman through stepping into traditionally male-specific positions, and she refocuses the concepts of violence and power to reflect a feminine ‘power-to’ structure, rather than masculine ‘power-over’ one. Daenerys utilizes the contemporary feminist focus on intersectionality and media, giving contemporary feminists a figure to look to when attempting to achieve these goals in our world, by gaining her own agency, rejecting the male-dominance that has shaped her life, creating agency for others to choose their own path, and refocusing the concepts of power, class, and violence to further the goals of feminism overall.

Additional Information

Publication
Honors Project
Reeves, J. (2017). "Yaaaas Queen! – Daenerys Targaryen As A Contemporary Feminist." Unpublished Honors Thesis. Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.
Language: English
Date: 2017
Keywords
Contemporary Feminism, Game of Thrones, Daenerys Targaryen, Intersectionality, Media and Celebrity

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