steven universe

Written sometime in 2021

This show was honestly life-changing for me. The whole thing is an expression of creativity and radical love for others and the self. I think if I had seen this show when it first came out in 2013, while I was in college, I might have been able to love myself more. 

The celebration of queerness and identity unconfined by the gender binary in this show is huge, from Steven being the softest boi, to the unquestioned gender non-conforming identity of Stevonnie, the joy of Ruby and Sapphire's relationship as Garnet, the fact that all the gems use "she/her" pronouns and seem to embody a wide range of gender expressions. Rebecca Sugar imagined a world without the gender police, and it's by no means an easy life without it, but one can tangibly feel the weight that is lifted off of the characters in that way.