Why are we keeping women down in historical drama?

I’ve just started watching House of Dragons and I can’t help but notice how they’ve set up a kind of mixed-mode morality where the handling of women gets left firmly in the past. Within two episodes we’ve got a mid-forties King being offered a 12-year-old, but settling for a 15-year-old as a wife – something that by modern standard would not be acceptable. I realise this is easily defended by the usual ‘it was acceptable in the eighties / House of Dragons times’ retort – but why limit the outdated handling to women? Why not have hierarchies of race in operation in a more historical (racist) manner? I’m not advocating that of course, just wondering why the writers leave the women so far behind? This isn’t really history at all, it’s fantasy so it is not a requirement for the purposes of historical accuracy (though a good deal of accuracy is now often ignored in the interests of fairness in any case). I don’t especially want to be woke, but why be half-woke? in effect it is saying that an audience can imagine a world where certain forms of oppression and bigotry aren’t so prevalent, but not so with sexism. I have many questions.

Have a listen to my podcast where I uncover none of the answers…