ACTUAL REPRESENTATION: Steven Universe

Let's shake things up a bit, shall we.

I'm gonna mix up the schedule a bit and once a month I'm gonna do a post about actual LGBTQ+ representation in kids' media. Honestly, I wish I could do it more often, but there just isn't enough material to cover :( Maybe one day...

As you may have caught on, a lot of what I've been talking about here is made up mostly from my imagination. The queer representation I talk about in the films/tv shows/books/whatever for kids isn't real. Because this kind of representation barely exists, I decided to create it for myself.

But the times they are a-changin' (albeit slowly). And there is some LGBTQ+ representation out there for young people. AND I WANNA TALK ABOUT IT!

For my inaugural Actual Representation post, I wanna talk about my favorite tv show right now: STEVEN UNIVERSE!

It's on Cartoon Network, created by Rebecca Sugar (CN's first ever female creator!) and it's awesome. Click my face to learn more about the show and it's awesome LGBTQ+ representation in kids' media (you should also subscribe to my YouTube Channel).

And here's a video of Ruby and Sapphire fusing into Garnet (voiced by Estelle!)

I've watched that video so many times, it's just not even funny at this point. Definitely cried the happiest of tears the first time. 

This moment is seriously ground-breaking! The show is already so queer in its representation of women as positive role models, and alternative family structures (plus they're aliens and Steven is half alien and that definitely sounds non-normative to me) that throwing Ruby and Sapphire's relationship into the mix is just the gem on top of a perfect banana split. 

What's cool about Steven Universe and Garnet's story is that while Ruby and Sapphire's romantic relationship has been confirmed by the creators, their relationship is totally out in the open. They are clearly and explicitly in a strong, stable, romantic relationship and it's NBD. There is no shame from the series itself or the characters about the relationship. Shows like Adventure Time and The Legend of Korra hint at romantic same-sex relationships within the cartoons themselves (Bubbline and Korrassami) but they've only been revealed (or made canon) by the creators. I'm super skeptical of shows doing this because how many kids do you know watch these shows and immediately Google whether the creators have said if those characters are in same-sex relationships? Maybe I'm wrong but I think it unlikely, as internet-savvy as kids might be these days. 

What do you think about Steven Universe and its LGBTQ+ representation for kids? I can't wait for the show to come off hiatus and for Steven to officially meet Ruby and Sapphire and for the characters (not the creators) to talk about the relationship.

ALSO, I've started contributing to VProud.tv (an awesome new troll-free video platform started by former YouTube/Google Exec Karen Cahn that's for women, by women, and aims to start honest conversations on the internet!) and you can join the conversation I've started about Steven Universe there. Ok, plugging done.