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Things are changing for the women of 'Game of Thrones' this season. Finally.

Who runs the Westeros world? GIRLS!WARNING: 'Game of Thrones' spoilers below.

If you thought the big reveal of "Game of Thrones" season six was John Snow not being dead, you haven't been paying attention.

The real news this season is that the ladies of Westeros are taking their rightful places as the badass conquerors, and no man — living or white walker — can stop them.


GIF from "Game of Thrones"/HBO.

There've been moments of badass women wielding power peppered throughout the series, but now the women of "Game of Thrones" are taking center stage like never before.

After many, many, many seasons of seeing female characters degraded and used as props and naked background decoration, we're finally seeing these amazing women get what's coming to them — namely, positions of high power, revenge, and most importantly, female solidarity.

It's like "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" but instead of chant circles and mint juleps, we have bloody body piles and dragon-scorched boats.

Ya-Ya! GIF from "Game of Thrones"/HBO.

Sansa Stark has transformed from a terrified prisoner into a military strategist.

This is perhaps the most exciting character journey of the season — Sansa has come a long way in just nine episodes and won't let anyone stand in the way of reclaiming her own autonomy and her home.

GIF from "Game of Thrones"/HBO.

Not only did Sansa manage to escape the clutches of the unnervingly evil Ramsay Bolton, but with the help of Brienne of Tarth, she made it all the way to her brother John Snow at Castle Black where she promptly schooled him on how to build an army. Of course, he didn't listen to her — because even the John Snows of Westeros can be pig-headed.

In the most recent episode, "Battle of the Bastards," rather than let her brother die (again), Sansa went behind his back to save his (and everyone else's) skin using her Aery army connections.

Of course, she does wait until the very last minute to teach her big brother the most important lesson: When dealing with a sadistic psychopath, you should always listen to his former wife.

Well-seasoned conqueror, Daenerys Targaryen, aka Khaleesi, aka the Mother of Dragons, may have begun this season working alone, but now she's aligned herself with another powerful woman: Yara of Ironborn.

GIF from "Game of Thrones"/HBO.

True, Daenerys has been burning her name into all the eastern kingdoms for several seasons now, but in season 6, she's really coming into her own. At the beginning of this season, she sought fiery revenge on the Dothraki leaders, took the remaining people under her command, and subdued the slave leaders with her dragon children.

In "Battle of the Bastards," Daenerys raised her dominating lady power to the nth degree when she combined forces with everyone's favorite sea-based ruler — Yara of Ironborn.

Boom! Solidarity sister mic drop! GIF from "Game of Thrones"/HBO.

This union is the feminist equivalent of the Ghostbusters crossing proton streams: Despite the fear of world implosion, we'll end up better and safer on the other side.

As if in response to all the public outcry against how the show handles rape, Daenerys explicitly called for an end to it, along with "reaving, roving, and raiding" in her pact with Yara.


Lyanna Mormont of Bear Island, who made her first appearance this season, is proof that even 10-year-old girls can lead armies.

Image from "Game of Thrones"/HBO.

We all instantly fell in love with her because she's sassy (“Lady Sansa is a Bolton ... or is she a Lannister?”), but when it came down to it, she was willing to stand strong with her brethren and fight the ultimate battle.

And while Sansa, Daenarys, Yara, and Lyanna are all out there leading their people, they aren't the only female characters owning their power this season.

Margaery of Tyrell has spent this season proving that sometimes you can fight without physical weapons and still win major battles.

GIF from "Game of Thrones"/HBO.

After all, she's been dealing with a powerful religious fanatic (*cough* cult leader *cough*) who's taken control of King's Landing. Under such circumstances, she's had to play her hand close to the chest, but so far, it appears to be working.

And, lastly, having spent two seasons trying to become a girl with no name — Arya Stark is now ready to embrace the power that comes with owning her identity.

GIF from "Game of Thrones"/HBO.

Arya's training with, and subsequent epic fight against, the Waif in a series of terminator-style face offs demonstrate how size, gender, and age truly do not matter when it comes to being able to deliver heart-pounding action sequences.

Slick fighting skills are far from the only thing that's turned Arya into a pillar of strength, however. Her encounter with the playhouse actress, Lady Crane, taught her to trust her own judgement rather than leave her fate in the hands of the many-faced god.

According to HBO, this six-season journey toward Westeros' feminist future has been part of the plan all along.

"It’s the women that are the hope that we’re watching as the chess pieces move this season, and it’s very exciting,” HBO programming president Michael Lombardo told Entertainment Weekly.

Given that for six seasons audiences have tuned in to see women being raped, tortured, blinded, and married off to horrible men over and over again — simply put, this shift is both incredibly welcome and long overdue.

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Three women, three MS journeys: How multiple sclerosis looks different for everyone

Gina, Nathalie and Helga share their reactions to being diagnosed with MS and how they stay informed and positive in the face of ever-changing symptoms.

Courtesy of Sanofi

Helga, Nathalie and Gina all have MS, and their experiences show how differently the disease can manifest.

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It’s been 155 years since neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot gave the first lecture on a mysterious progressive illness he called “multiple sclerosis.” Since then, we’ve learned a lot. We know MS causes the immune system to attack healthy tissue, including damaging the brain and spinal cord. Resulting symptoms can be debilitating and include fatigue, blurred vision, memory problems and weakness. Huge advancements in our understanding of MS and its underlying causes, as well as treatment advances, have been made in the past few decades, but MS remains a complex and unpredictable reality for the 2.8 million+ people diagnosed around the world.

Ironically, the only real constant for people living with MS is change. There’s no set pattern or standard progression of the disease, so each person’s experience is unique. Some people with MS have mild symptoms that worsen slowly but sometimes improve, while others can have severe symptoms that drastically alter their daily lives.

All people with MS share some things in common, however, such as the need to stay informed on the ever-evolving research, find various lines of support and try to remain hopeful as they continue living with the disease.

To better understand what navigating life with MS really looks like, three women shared their MS stories with us. Their journeys demonstrate how MS can look different for different people and interestingly, how the language used to talk about the disease can greatly impact how people understand their realities.

woman with horse, woman riding horseGina loves riding her horse, Benita.Courtesy of Sanofi

Gina—Hamburg, Germany (diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis in 2017)

When her youngest son was 4 months old, Gina started having problems with her eye. She’d soon learn she was experiencing optic neuritis—her first symptom of MS.

“Immediately after the diagnosis, I looked up facts on MS because I didn’t know anything about it,” Gina says. “And as soon as I knew what could really happen with this disease, I actually got scared.”

As her family’s primary income provider, she worried about how MS would impact her ability to work as a writer and editor. Her family was afraid she was going to end up in a wheelchair. However, for now, Gina’s MS is managed well enough that she still works full-time and is able to be active.

“When I tell somebody that I have MS, they often don't believe me the first time because I don't fulfill any stereotypes,” she says.

Overwhelmed by negative perspectives on living with MS, Gina sought support in the online MS community, which she found to be much more positive.

“I think it’s important to use as many positive words as you can when talking about MS.” It’s important to be realistic while also conveying hope, she says. “MS is an insidious disease that can cause many bad symptoms…that can be frightening, and you can't gloss over it, either.”

To give back to the online community that helped her so much, Gina started a blog to share her story and help others trying to learn about their diagnosis.

Though she deals with fatigue and cognitive dysfunction sometimes, Gina stays active swimming, biking, riding horses and playing with her sons, who are now 11 and 6.

Cognitive dysfunction is common in MS, with over half of people affected. It can impact memory, attention, planning, and word-finding. As with many aspects of MS, some people experience mild changes, while others face more challenges.

Gina says that while there’s still a lot of education about MS needed, she feels positive about the future of MS because there’s so much research being done.

woman in wheelchair holding medal, woman rowingNathalie is an award-winning rower with multiple international titles.Courtesy of Sanofi

Nathalie — Pennes Mirabeau, France (diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in 2002)

Nathalie was a teenager and a competitive athlete when she noticed her first symptoms of MS, but it would take four years of “limbo” before she was diagnosed.

“Ultimately, the diagnosis was more of a relief, than a shock,” she says. “Because when you have signs and you don’t know why, it’s worse than knowing, in the end, what you have.”

However, learning more about the disease—and the realities of disease progression—scared her.

“That glimpse of the future was direct and traumatic,” she says. Her neurologist explained that the disease evolves differently for everyone, and her situation might end up being serious or very mild. So, she decided to stop comparing herself to others with MS.

She said to herself, “We’ll see what happens, and you’ll manage it bit by bit.”

By 2005, Nathalie’s MS had progressed to the point of needing a wheelchair. However, that has not dampened her competitive spirit.

Nathalie began her international rowing career in 2009 and has won multiple world titles, including two Paralympic medals—silver in London and bronze in Tokyo. Now, at 42, she still trains 11 times a week. Fatigue can be a problem, and sometimes hard workouts leave her with muscle stiffness and shaking, but she credits her ongoing sports career for helping her feel in tune with her body’s signals.

“Over the years, I’ve learned to listen to my body, letting my body guide when I need to stop and take breaks,” she says.

Nathalie explains that she used to only look backwards because of the initial shock of her diagnosis. In time, she stopped thinking about what she couldn’t do anymore and focused on her future. She now lives in the following mindset: “Even when doors close, don’t miss out on those that open.” Instead of focusing on what she can’t do, she focuses on the opportunities she still has. Right now, this includes her training for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, where she will compete for another rowing medal.

“I only go forward,” she says. “Well, I try, anyway…It’s easy to say, it’s not always easy to do. But that’s what I try to do.”

woman exiting water after swimming, woman with great daneHelga's Great Dane has become a helpful and beloved companion.Courtesy of Sanofi

Helga—Johannesburg, South Africa (diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis in 2010)

When Helga first started having balance issues and numbness in her feet, she chalked it up to her training as a runner. But when the numbness moved to her face, she knew something was wrong. She never guessed it was MS.

“When I was diagnosed, I felt completely overwhelmed and clueless,” Helga says. “I felt that I had nowhere near enough information. I did not know anything about the disease…I had no idea that it was going to be a process of continually monitoring and adjusting your lifestyle.”

In the beginning, Helga’s symptoms developed slowly, and she didn’t appear ill to others. She was even able to run for a few years after her diagnosis, but she couldn’t do marathons anymore, and she began to fall frequently due to balance issues and right-foot dragging. Then her cognition issues became more problematic, especially in her job as a trainer in a printing company.

“My executive function, decision-making and short-term memory were affected to the point that I was eventually medically unfit for work,” she says. She stopped working in 2017.

However, she didn’t stop living life. Even though she could no longer run, she continued to swim competitively. She got a Great Dane puppy and trained him as a service dog to help her walk. She also serves as vice chair of the patient support organization Multiple Sclerosis South Africa, and she advises others who have been diagnosed to join a patient advocacy group as soon as possible to get reliable information and meet others with MS.

Helga says she is “hopeful” about the future of MS. “I must say that I am so grateful that we have all the new medications available, because my life would not be the same if it wasn't for that,” she adds.

Part of how she manages her MS is by looking at the positives.

“If I could tell the world one thing about MS, it would be that MS is an incurable disease of the nervous system, but it's also the greatest teacher of valuing your health, family, friends, and managing change in your life,” she says. “My life is diversified in a way that I never, ever thought it would, and MS has been honestly the greatest teacher.”

Each MS journey is unique – with each person impacted experiencing different struggles, successes, and feelings as they manage this unpredictable disease. But the common thread is clear – there is a critical need for information, support, and hope. We are proud to participate in World MS Day and share these incredible stories of living life while living with MS. To learn more about MS, go to https://www.sanofi.com/why-words-really-matter-when-it-comes-to-multiple-sclerosis.

MAT-GLB-2301642-v1.0-05/2023

This article was sponsored by Sanofi. Participants were compensated when applicable.

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