Arya Stark Shows Us What Consensual Sex Looks Like

Game of Thrones is now in The second episode of its final season. Of course it came with it’s share of surprises. From Tormund‘s reveal of being breast fed by a giant‘s tee to Sans reassu Daenarys that there will be another war after the Great War and on top of all of that, no one died! So many things, happened. The longest trending topic on Twitter from tonights episode was ‘Arya‘.

Lady Arya Stark; servant of the faceless god, master of the to-do list, and feminist, got busy with the bastard son of Robert Baratheon, Gendry (last name not given). I do not find this at all shocking. According to what is said to be in the books that Game of Thrones is based on, Arya is 20 years old. Gendry is about 5 to 7 years older. Although the age of consent is Earthly based, these are two human adults in Westeros.

The suprise on the internet was filled with shock about Arya's forthright in her intentions with Gendry. She made a decision and acted on it. Game of Thrones has a very strong presence of powerful women. It is not wonder that Arya conducted her first time have sex in the way that she did. She voiced her decision, invited someone who she'd chosen to participate, and directed it as such. That is rarely seen on television. (cable or not) The typical display of a "first time" usually consists of a young women being delicate, shy, visibily uncertain, and reluctantly but willingly losing control. The man involved typically shows the woman how things are done and mounts her then the seen will fade to black with a gasp from the woman. The gasp is there to let us know that intercourse has happened. It is just silly and

This continues as a natrrative and perpetuates that the woman is not involved in her first time or actively aware of her body. It is a tired story that needs to be addressed. Game of Thrones did another justice for feminisml women. Arya made a full decision that she wanted to do something. There is a power in her decisiveness and admirable in her personality.

People are so shocked about Arya having sex on Game of Thrones because it’s not expected for a woman to decide she wants to have sex. Rather it is expected that sex happens to her and that she loses something by doing so. In consenting sexual encounters, there is no “loss of virginity”.

When two persons agree to participate in intimacy mutually, it is normal. A woman deciding to have sex does not mean that she is 'losing her virginity'. A woman is still whole after her first time.

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