GRRM Hates Women

Cersei

I think GRRM must have been really scarred by women or has some real difficulties with the fairer sex.  Male authors that right POV for women might find it challenging – but GRRM is a good writer obviously – the story is compelling, but it just seems too consistent that he paints women as evil and if not evil he tortures or abuse them. 

• Cersei Lannister – the queen bee herself of everything stereo typically evil and despicable in a women. 
• Lysa Tully – whacky from the get go.  Never a doubt – non likeable character. 
• Margaery Tyrell –seems to a positive, but terribly unlucky character.  However, GRRM can help to make her possibly adulterous or treasonous…

• 

  Daenerys

  Olenna Redwyne – an intelligent elderly woman, plays smart in a man’s world, so GRRM calls her “The Queen of Thorns”
• Targaryen Women in general are week, incestuous,  and certainly rarely mentioned as heroic.  Only possible exception was Queen Ann and her gift?
• Daenerys Targaryen – the true “heroine” of the book.  Finally someone for women to rally around.  Well, except she too – like Margaery, Catelyn, Ayra, Sansa or Brean – has a horrible journey that pretty much begins with her being ridden and treated like a horse. 
• Myrcella Baratheon – some sympathetic child of incest, leads a small conspiracy,  but lost an ear and received a hideous facial scar.
• Lynanna Stark – lost princess of Winterfell or “too Wild for her own good?”

• 

  Catelyn

  Arya Stark – beset, capable of evil herself, remourseful at times, becomes and assasin and ends up blind
• Sansa Stark – yuk, my least favorite character of all women in the series – rarely any redeeming qualities. 
• Catelyn Tully Stark – maybe started off as good and a sympatheric character but her Dante-esqe decent slowly winds through a journey ever deeper into hell – that she eventually is dead and still not likeable. 
• Sand Snakes – lol
• If you want to find a somewhat likebale female character – you have to cross into the cross gender bending Asha and Brienne of Tarth (who GRRM still has hung at the end of the last book)

Of course the argument could be made that almost all the male characters are treated in the same way.- evil or tortured.  Well, the Stark men in general with the possible exception of Rikkon (Who seems to have been thrown away as a character) are all sympathetic (yes tortured) characters.  You can find other appealing and/or sympathetic male characters.  What about Tyrion or Jaime?  Tyrion is no puritan, but nevertheless we root for him.  Jaime – OMG – he is on a path of redemption worthy of altar call or testimony at a Baptist church! 

GRRM hates women. 

Daniel's Hypothesis: Love not Lust

Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. He is Ned's nephew. Rhaegar and Lyanna fell in love, perhaps initially at the Tourney at Harrenhall when Rhaegar named her Queen of Love and Beauty.

Rather than "kidnapping" Lyanna, I believe the two eloped, perhaps to the Tower of Joy. I think they were married. They remained there until Rhaegar left to fight Robert at the Battle of the Trident (note that Rhaegar did not participate in any battles during the War of the Usurper until the Trident). After Rhaegar was killed, Ned Stark and six companions went to the Tower of Joy to rescue Lyanna. There they fought and killed three members of the Kingsguard (Arthur Dayne, Gerold Hightower and Oswell Whent). They found Lyanna "on a bed of blood" which I believe is a reference to childbirth. Jon was born around the same time Ned Stark reached the Tower of Joy, and only he and the other survivor of the battle with the Kingsguard, Howland Reed, know the truth. Lyanna's last words to Ned are "promise me."

Evidence:

Rhaegar is remembered as a noble, likable man by all the those who knew him. He is said to have been bookish as a child, before suddenly deciding to learn weaponry and combat. Kidnapping Lyanna does not appear to fit with his character.

Lyanna is remembered by Ned to be wild and headstrong. He tells Arya in AGOT Chapter 22 (Arya) that "because of her wildness (Lyanna) died young." It would seem that he is blaming Lyanna for her death, rather than Rhaegar as would make sense if he had kidnapped her.

The three members of the Kingsguard that die at the Tower of Joy are reputed to be among the most honorable and noble knights in Westeros, especially Ser Arthur Dayne. The fact that they fought to the death would seem to suggest that they were honor bound to protect a member of the Royal family. Dying to protect Rhaegar's kidnapped mistress is a much weaker story than dying to protect the King's newborn son and, perhaps, his wife.

Lyanna's death makes much more sense as a death in childbirth than anything else. If she died "in a bed of blood," from something other than childbirth, what was it? Disease is unlikely, suicide also unlikely, especially if she was actually kidnapped, and if it was murder (as appears to be the assumption of most people) then who killed her? The noble knights of the Kingsguard?

Lyanna's last words to Ned Stark are "promise me." These make perfect sense if he has asked Ned to raise baby Jon as his own bastard and never tell Robert that he is Rhaegar's son by Lyanna. That news would have crushed Robert and almost certainly meant the death of Jon who is both the child of Robert's lifelong love by his greatest enemy AND, assuming Rhaegar married Lyanna, the rightful heir to the Throne of the Seven Kingdoms.

This brings us to perhaps the most important reason that Jon Snow is Lyanna and Rhaegar's son. It sets up an endgame for the series. Jon Snow (really Targaryen), rightful King of the Seven Kingdoms, weds Daenarys Targaryen, his aunt (weird, but these are Targaryens...) and gets to ride one of her dragons in the final battle against the Others/the forces of the ephemeral Conspiracy involving (speculatively) Archmaester Marwyn, Varys, Magister Illyrio, etc.