Into the World

Steven Universe: Protectors of Earth, Destroyers of Social Boundaries

By: Maryrose Krassner

 

            The influence of the Girl Cartoon genre over the last several decades has changed drastically, progressing from reestablishing dated gender norms to focusing on female empowerment, gender bending, and female ownership of the body. The serial Steven Universe heavily identifies with various waves of the Girl Cartoon genre, predominantly showcasing feminist ideals and values. While the show offers children entertainment on the surface, Steven Universe is a progressive program that deconstructs social boundaries created by society through characteristics of the Girl Cartoon genre, such as dealing with emotions and problem solving through communication and the “boobs and boyfriends” trend, and ideals of third-wave feminism, such as gender as a social construct and “Girl Power,” ultimately leading up to a combination of influences through the “feminine triptych.”

 

            In denotative terms, “A girl cartoon is a television cartoon program featuring a young girl as the main character; this means she is under 12 years old, not a teenager, not an adult” (Perea 190). This was the original definition of the Girl Cartoon during the first wave of the genre. With the creation of The Powerpuff Girls in the early 1990’s, the definition shifted slightly to allow a group of main female leads. Moving forward in time to the early 2000’s, viewers saw the definition widen even more when shows like As Told by Ginger, which offered a twelve-year-old lead, came into existence. However, Steven Universe uniquely identifies with the Girl Cartoon genre even though the protagonist is a young teenage boy. The main character, Steven Universe, often deals with conflict resolution in a similar manner to the original wave of the Girl Cartoon. His actions through the serial are congruent with the genre’s initial depiction of “processing emotions and solving conflicts through communication” (Perea 189). In this way, Steven breaks a critical gender norm for men and young boys, the idea that men talk with their fists, not their words. This type of problem-solving by Steven can be seen throughout the serial in episodes such as: “Bismuth,” “Storm in the Room,” and “Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service.”

 

            The way in which Steven communicates is not the only unique construct within the confines of the show. Another characteristic of the Girl Cartoon genre that is present in Steven Universe is the “boobs and boyfriends” concept stating, “that boobs and boyfriends were reserved for girls aged 12 years and up” (Perea 192). This applies to our main character, even though he is male, in that he has a budding relationship with his best friend Connie. However, the other main characters, Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst, are the more interesting portion of the cartoon relationship puzzle. The creators took the concept of adding opposite gendered love interests to these agender, “space rock” aliens and subverted it. All three of the aforementioned characters are older than twelve, qualifying them for the boobs and boyfriends storyline; however, while their ages do not let them stray from the path of the monogamous, their physicality and gender do. These original crystal gems, and the gems on “homeworld” where the stone-based aliens are from, are physically genderless, yet they all identify as women. This automatically defaults their potential love interests to those of the same gender. Queer relationships in cartoons, while sometimes present, are often not outwardly stated. They are implied and left unconfirmed. In this way, Steven Universe has contradicted the social boundary surrounding the taboo of LGBTQ relationships. The episode “The Answer” is a perfect example of how the show takes a lesbian relationship and puts it into terms that explain it to be the same as a heterosexual relationship. At the end of the episode, the show goes as far as having the now fused version of the two characters, Ruby and Sapphire, talk through their feelings of their taboo relationship, ask questions in a meta fashion about the confusion behind being outside the societal norms, and being told not to question who they are.

 

            Female and LGBTQ sexuality is also within the realm of the most current wave of feminism, third wave feminism. The creators of Steven Universe are certainly not strangers to concepts within the current feminist movement, focusing a fair amount of the cartoon’s themes around them. One theme the show takes from third-wave feminism and builds upon is the idea that gender is a social construct, not a physical one. Author Eli Dunn says, “It [Steven Universe] provides us with a framework to investigate how trans (and more precisely, agender and genderqueer) identities and experiences cannot only function but also thrive within the genre boundaries of the fantasy cartoon” (Dunn 44). In the Steven Universe short, “What are Gems?”, it is explained that gems are anthropomorphized beings created from information stored in their gem that takes multiple forms. These forms are projections that the short notes as “holograms with mass.” However, these forms are not random; the gem chooses what form to take on, and writers have yet to introduce a gem that takes on the masculine form, always opting for the feminine physique. In addition, all gems shown use female pronouns even though they are androgynous in nature. This deconstruction of gender norms created by society can be attributed to the fantasy elements of the program which give it the power to question, take on, or ignore whatever social constructs the characters feel most comfortable using. The gems’ ability to choose their gender is strongly in line with third-wave feminist gender politics which define gender as a social construct rather than sex.

 

            Empowerment can be found outside of choosing a gender to identify with in Steven Universe since gender norms come back into play in the way the crystal gems choose to form. Garnet’s form represents that of a curvy and tall woman. Amethyst’s form represents that of a shorter curvier woman. Pearl’s form is the outlier of the three, taking on a mid-size, slender form lacking in curves. All three women have stereotypical female features that coincide with their personalities, such as Amethyst’s long, flowing hair and killer curves, Garnet’s model inspired body, and Pearl’s daintiness and grace. These features were first seen in the title sequence of the very first episode of the serial titled, “Gem Glow.” However, their aesthetics are not actually female stereotypes at all under third-wave feminism. Per Evie Kendal, author of There’s No One Perfect Girl: Third Wave Feminism and The Powerpuff Girls, the term “Girl Power” acts as the central message of third-wave feminism. Girl Power is the idea that women can be powerful while still maintaining a “girly” aesthetic without perpetuating women’s inequality or “being a symptom of patriarchal society” (Kendal 236). This ideology holds true since Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl are shown to be fierce fighters from the beginning of the serial. Upon meeting the three gems, we find them nonchalantly fending off corrupt creatures within Steven’s home. This fighting sequence depicts them as strong and independent straight out the gate despite their mostly “girly” appearances. In other words, the female main characters within Steven Universe are deconstructing or demolishing the social boundaries placed around them and throwing the societal standards and expectations back in the face of the patriarchy, claiming their feminine aesthetic as their own.

 

            Within Steven Universe, there is an overlap between the influence of third-wave feminist ideals and the Girl Cartoon genre, the ownership of the formulaic “feminine triptych.” The feminine triptych, characteristic for Girl Cartoons, is the triad of beauty, brain, and brawn within the three main female characters, in this case, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl (Perea 194). One of the first sightings of the triptych in the Girl Cartoon genre was in the Cartoon Network television show The Powerpuff Girls. While the show depicts the influence of the triptych in terms of genre, it also allows elements of third-wave feminism to act on the power of the triptych. As author Evie Kendal notes, “As feminist icons of the Third Wave [of feminism], the Powerpuff girls’ physical and mental strength challenges second-wave notions of female victimhood” (Kendal 241). Similar to that of the Powerpuff Girls, the female crystal gems follow the feminine triptych while still exhibiting third-wave feminist resilience against second-wave feminist victimhood through mental and physical endurance. In Steven Universe, this endurance on the parts of Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl is visible due to the stereotypical ideals of female power instilled by the triptych which depicts Pearl as the beauty, Garnet as the brain, and Amethyst as the brawn. While this may sound counterproductive to deconstructing social boundaries in terms of what “female power” is societally expected to be, the ideals in terms of current feminism are actually overshadowed by the crystal gems expertise in fighting for and defending Earth. By making the power stereotypes subordinate to the gems’ prowess via the triptych and third-wave feminist ideology, the creators of the cartoon further empower their female protagonists in a way that continues to break down the façade of victimhood. In doing so, the program constitutes a gender norm that presents women as capable, compelling, dominant, and full of as much vigor as men.

 

            Through aspects of third-wave feminism and the Girl Cartoon genre, such as the boobs and boyfriends trend, Girl Power, and the feminine triptych, Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe dismantles societal boundaries. Going forward, cartoons for female audiences will hopefully continue to build off the concepts and patterns created by their predecessors in order to create a more realistic feminist media in which men and women will stand on equal ground. Little girls, teenagers, and young adults all need strong role models to look up to, and it is revolutionary television shows and cartoons that can partially mean the difference between empowerment and oppression.

 

 

Works Cited

            Dunn, Eli. "Steven Universe, Fusion Magic, and the Queer Cartoon Carnivalesque." Gender Forum, no. 56, Jan. 2016, p. 1. EBSCOhost, login.ezproxy.oneonta.edu:2443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edo&AN=119048087&site=eds-live.

 

            Kendal, Evie1, evie.kendal@monash.edu. "There's No One Perfect Girl: Third Wave Feminism and the Powerpuff Girls." Colloquy: Text Theory Critique, no. 24, Nov. 2012, pp. 234-252. EBSCOhost, login.ezproxy.oneonta.edu:2443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hus&AN=92047123&site=eds-live.

 

            Perea, Katia. "Girl Cartoons Second Wave: Transforming the Genre." Animation (17468477), vol. 10, no. 3, Nov. 2015, p. 189. EBSCOhost, login.ezproxy.oneonta.edu:2443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=110542179&site=eds-live.