HI HELLO MAX (do you still go by max? this is suri) i left it in the tags but i wanted to drop you an ask abt it too because something i don’t see talked about as much as the representation of queerness and gender in SU is its depictions of race, as told by me, a queer poc :D
so… SU might have had some of the most positive depictions of nonwhite characters i have ever seen in the cartoons and kids/teens media i grew up with. the pizza family come to mind, but i don’t want to speak on them without a black fan’s perspective.
what i CAN and absolutely WILL speak on, though, is connie maheshwaran, and her parents, priyanka and doug. Connie might be one of, if not the best, depiction of an indian (in the sense of From India, not indigenous american) character in any of the media i grew up with. SU takes so much care to treat her like a full person and give her realistic growth and challenges even when she’s not the focus of the story, and i’ll always be grateful for it.
i don’t know that people are as aware of indian racial stereotypes in media, but if you go back through well loved shows with an eye for what to look for, you’ll start seeing them everywhere. the typical hallmarks i look out for are as follows:
indian characters are overwhelmingly men. this on its own isn’t necessarily a racist trope, but it becomes one when…
… indian men and boys are constantly portrayed as physically weak, socially inept, unfunny, uncool, awkward, or the butt of the joke. in adult characters, this usually extends to a lack of a romantic or sex life, combined with desperation and a pathetic “neediness”. this may be also combined with stereotypical markers of effeminate behavior or gayness, i.e. being overly consumed with hygiene or grooming, petty/catty behavior, etc. broadly, it’s emasculation.
if indian women are portrayed at all, they’re often portrayed as unattractive, prudish, academically minded to the exclusion of everything else, similarly socially inept, though with women it’s usually portrayed as bluntness. weirdly often they’re shown as physically stronger and very often masculinized, as is the case for most women of color.
there are a lot of titles i adore but have trouble revisiting because of these stereotypes— this is baljeet in phineas and ferb. this is ravi in jessie. this is chirag gupta in diary of a wimpy kid. i rarely saw representation to begin with as a kid, and a lot of the time, this was all that was available to me.
enter SU, and enter connie. i really love how bubble buddies (s1e2) sets her up as if she is going to be some kind of demure affection for steven to pine for from afar, only to immediately cut in and show that she’s actually deeply lonely, and that trying to be this perfect girl is taking a toll on her.
after all of these stereotypes, connie is a marvel. nightmare hospital is still one of my favorite episodes just for the sheer catharsis that comes from her finding the strength to challenge her mother’s perception of her, reveal more of the true self she’s been cultivating, and ultimately emerge with a better relationship because of it. there’s a lot of episodes and even just individual scenes in episodes with different focuses where the time is taken to just… show connie in all her different facets. we see her as a reader and a fan, we see her as an athlete, a passionate musician, an artist, a teen girl with her own complicated emotions to contend with, an incredible persuasive speaker, and a really good friend. as the series marches on she blossoms into this really skilled, confident and levelheaded young woman with a serious knack for diplomacy— and can i just say, it’s such a breath of fresh air to see an indian character who ISN’T academically pursuing science or engineering. connie is the exact opposite of the stereotypical indian character; episodes like the crystal temps and the finale of SUF really shine a light on what a fantastic public speaker she is and how much she’s grown from shy and anxious to outspoken and unafraid of her own anger. even episodes not focused on her take the time to show that her growth is constantly happening, even when we can’t see it.
ultimately, i can sum this all up as the writers simply treating connie like an important character worthy of depth and respect, and seems insane that she was one of the only ones i knew of for so long. i first saw her in middle school and connected with her instantly. i can’t think of a character before or after that i’ve been able to see both so much of myself in AND so much to aspire to. connie was my rock through some of the most difficult years i faced. i’ll forever be infinitely, unbelievably grateful to rebecca sugar for her.
hi suri! :)
this is a wonderful, beautiful ask that i’m tempted to just let sit on its own.
i’m really glad you shared this because i hadn’t thought very much through this lens before. watching the show i mostly took note of how great for a “female love interest” character connie is. while she does struggle with shyness and making friends, this isn’t portrayed as submissive; and in fact in the very episode she’s introduced she has a loud, emotional outburst about her completely valid fears. i always appreciated that while connie is having to fight to break the mold by being an awesome, swordfighting adventurer — this isn’t portrayed as a consequence of “being a girl” but instead as something unfair and unusual from her overprotective parents. it’s nice to have a story that obviously does have undertones of misogyny without it being weirdly two dimensional— connie is not “a girl who wants to be one of the boys”, she is a normal girl, whose struggles mostly revolves around dealing with her strained relationship with overprotective parents with overly high expectations… something both relatable to kids in a general sense but also, i’m realizing, likely specifically relatable to children of first generation immigrants.
connie isn’t quiet or submissive, and while she does deal with being overlooked and subdued it is something specific and real and grounded. connie herself is an incredibly grounded but dynamic character— the only one with a different outfit every time she appears!— someone so full of life and changing. the essence of being human, and the perfect foil to steven, who is magically static, in that way. you can really see just how much care they took with everything in this show, from the art to the story. it genuinely warms my heart.
i really really love connie. thank you for this ask.
