The Emilia Clarke abuse has sparked an important debate about how women age

Emilia Clarke trolls have sparked an important discussion around women aging – mostly, that it's natural, normal and should be none of your concern.

The Game of Thrones star took to Instagram last week with a post showing her infectious smile and displaying her positive outlook on life. The candid snap shows Clarke posting with a mug that read "You're doing f***ing great."

In the caption, Clarke penned, "Mum got me a mug. I felt it was important to share this new found wisdom. Use it and reap the rewards," along with the hashtags, #itstimetostartbackingyoselfpeople, #mumsreallydoknowbest and #mycoldjustgotitsmedicine.

The photo was soon inundated with millions of likes, with thousands more complimenting Clarke.

Meanwhile, one man embarrassingly took time out of his day to screenshot the actress' post and share on Twitter, writing: "Lmao wow Daenerys Targaryen didn’t just hit the wall she flew into it full speed on a dragon."

Another man commented: "Mother of dragons what happened to you," while a third added: "What’s happening with those hairs, they’re worse than mine right now."

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It soon led to a wider discussion about the double standards towards women aging.

Many called out the comments as "gross and misogynistic," with one person rightfully hitting back: "I don't know why you think it's cool to put people down for the simple human process of aging."

"Emilia Clarke was beautiful when she was 22, she’s still an extremely beautiful woman here. She’s just aged…which hasn’t made her any less beautiful. I fail to see the problem with this picture," one penned.

Others suggested that social media has warped the perception of aging, with one adding: "This is a normal looking woman?? Do people not know anymore how people outside of edited social media posts look like?????????"

"Man learns for the very first time what 36-year-old women with no botox look like," another wrote.

Clarke previously opened up about her thoughts on aging, telling Elle: "You've got this idea of ageing, and then you've got the idea of what ageing makes you look like.

"At 34, I am wiser, more intelligent, I've had more experiences, I've done all this stuff, and I'm proud of that. You can only do that because you are the age you are. Time is the only thing allows you to do those things.

"So, if my face is gonna reflect the time that I've spent on this earth, I'm down for that."

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