#positive representations

Don’t forget you can send in submissions or recommend some positive entertainment to me!

And I want him to be a good role model for Steven. DON’T GET ME WRONG, I’m glad Steven has the role models that he does, but I think it would be very good for him to have a masculine male presenting role model that is a Gem.

Steven is a young kid and young kids need a good balance of role models across . His dad is great and I love Greg, but so far it has only been female presenting role models that have the crazy powers that Steven does. (Purple Puma does not count. That’s just a persona. And a violent one at that.) Not to mention the only human so far to take down a gem monster was still female and all men in the show are kind of presented as weak, wimpy, or mean. (Not that I don’t still love them. Except Ronaldo. Fuck that guy.)

Obviously I wouldn’t want a character like this to over-power the show, but it could be a good way to not only show Steven a secondary good male role-model, but also give him someone to connect to power-wise that doesn’t have a crippling connection to Rose Quartz. It would also show some hope for the other Gems on Home World. As (no offense) I highly doubt she was the ONLY Gem who had compassion for other life-forms and their planets. She had an army backing her.

Who’s to say she didn’t have secret followers after the war who lived on Home World? And before I seem like I’m contradicting myself with the connection to Rose Quartz, there is a difference. Although this hasn’t happened with garnet yet, Pearl and Amethyst’s connections to Rose are CRIPPLING. Pearl had an unhealthy infatuation with Rose, Amethyst has resentment towards her and Greg’s relationship and Steven said himself that he’s pretty sure the three blame him for his mother not existing anymore.

So this gem would have respect for Rose, sure. Admiration for someone who inspires you is different from what the Crystal Gems had and have for Rose, however. Their connection was much deeper than that.

This Gem could provide not only something good for Steven but for the audience as well. Little kids watch this show and for them to have positive powerful role models in the show that span across the gender spectrum would be SO good for them. And no offense to Rebecca Sugar, but as much as she says that the gems are “just gems” and have no gender you can NOT look me in the eyes and say that all the gems so far have been presented as female. Even Jasper and Ruby who walk the line are still considered feminine and use female pronouns.

Not to even mention that the few times that gems are masculine they are presented as impatient, ruthless, and/or evil. There is nothing wrong with being masculine or male for that matter and to have a cartoon show more than just negativity of masculinity would be a great step to making a show that shows all kinds of characters in positive light. There’s nothing wrong with masculinity and both sides need to stop presenting the other as bad.

This could possibly be a gem that could help Steven AND the Gems learn more about the Home World, current Gem tech and culture, and learn that not every muscled gem he meets will want to kill him.