When fans saw the treatment of Loras Tyrell on HBO’s Game of Thrones, they knew the show had a queer problem. Although it had been long suspected due to his character being treated as a stereotype, it was confirmed when he was forced to undergo what could be referred to as Westerosi conversion therapy that stripped him of his core identity.
Between casually, accepted homophobic language, the overall treatment of Loras Tyrell, and the fact every single explicitly queer character dies, usually horrifically, the show had a major queer problem that never improved. Although some would argue the show never improved overall, the situation was bleaker for explicitly queer characters.
The queer problem of Game of Thrones became even more apparent thanks to the massive fan response of the show. While the fandom was already large, due to the success of the novels, an impressive amount of queer fans have utilized the Internet to take back, and even correct, the narrative from David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. This paper presentation not only seeks to point out the queer issues within Game of Thrones, but will also examine the impact the show’s narratives on queer fans by studying their responses to said problems. To further summarize, this presentation addresses the issue of representation on popular television, what that representation looks like on a show such as Game of Thrones , and its impact on actual queer people.
About the presenterSam J Vertosick
Dr. Sam J. Vertosick is an alumni of the PhD in Literature and Criticism program at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, an instructor at Bethany College, and part-time faculty at Carlow University and Westmoreland County Community College. They focus in queer Young Adult and Children’s Literature, particularly in speculative fiction.