Beyond Selidor

I've read the books, and I must say I initially read them quite uncritically because I was so thrilled to find a fantasy series where implacability and honour beyond reason weren't rewarded (also I wasn't a proper feminist yet and didn't really understand rape culture). But when I started to learn more about those things, I couldn't unsee them. I hadn't heard that about GRRM, but it really wouldn't surprise me. Some of the stuff he's said on his blog (especially in relation to the casting of the young actresses to play Daenerys, Sansa et al) has been quite creepy. I'm not really involved in the fandom, but Westeros.org is notorious for wank and entitlement and so on.

I judge that whole site and everyone in it. I can definitely see them converging to tear apart anybody who says "mean things" about their precious books.

The first time I remember it happening was when Sady Doyle did a sort of epic smackdown of the series for the rapeyness and misogyny and racism, and this bunch of irate fans flooded her blog to tell her she Just Wasn't Getting It with regard to GRRM's unparalleled genius. And they were the nice ones. The others were...well, I think you can imagine what they were saying to a well-known feminist blogger who dared to criticise a popular male author.

It's probably the literature student in me, but the implication that you have to switch your brain off in order to enjoy something as a True Fan™ really bothers me. Like the stuff you like, and by all means read/watch it uncritically if you prefer, but behaving like a spoilt toddler when someone does criticise it is, well, childish.