I was a really soft-hearted little kid who cried a lot and liked to play games about making big families and nurturing things, which, since I was a boy, meant I got the shit kicked out of me a lot by other boys for being girly. Boys were supposed to be tough and fight and compete and try to be the best, you see, that's how our imagination games were supposed to go. And that's what media aimed at boys when I was a kid focused on - heroes who beat the shit out of people and are tough and don't cry et cetera et cetera.
And I learned to like that and see the appeal in that, sure. There are lots of stories that were made for an audience of little boys that I ended up liking. But I always wanted something that told me boys like me, who didn't want to be violent or competitive, who liked nurturing things and making friends, who avoided fights whenever allowed, were valid.
So I was really happy when Steven Universe came around and was exactly that - the kind of show a sensitive little boy like I used to be would have killed to see. And very shortly after that I was crushed when the growing criticism of the show repeated the refrain that it was bad mainly because Steven was a pacifist who cried and didn't want to be violent and liked nurturing things and making friends instead of killing people. I wasn't surprised, no, it made perfect sense people would hate it for being that, but I was crushed all the same.
Our society only accepts a very narrow definition of masculinity, and kindness isn't allowed to play a very big role in it. That's one of the reasons I quit it.
Anyway, I'm a daycare teacher now, and one of the kids in my class is a really sensitive little boy with big feelings and a bigger heart, who acts very nurturing to his little 3-D printed dragons, and gets very upset at how mean and rude the other little boys can be when they're trying to prove they're mature and tough. Recently he's been talking to me about a show he found and has fallen in love with called Steven Universe, and I've been delighted to hear him regale me about how much he loves it. I bet it's doing him some real good to see that it's ok for a little boy like him to have a big heart and to want to make friends instead of fight all the time. He's making up his own crystal gem OC too, isn't that nice?
Purity culture, the great divide, and fandom. (Another one to the pile of hot takes)
So I've been an anime fan for a long time and naturally I have seen shows come and go, and watch a lot of anime youtubers. Once in a while though I run into some who, let's say, are critical of both left and right wingers in the fandom. "I'm neither left nor right, says the right", but subtler I guess? Their criticisms make me think of how artificial the whole divide can be. Like, barely comparable.
I absolutely get not wanting to associate with the range of questionable to ABSOLUTELY THE FUCK NOT right wing anime fans, cause human rights are not a debate. To equate them to leftists and their (god forbid) trans head-canons... As though they sit on equal ground? Concerns about how women, gay, and/or black people are portrayed in the fucking 21st century; teenagers saying stupid shit on the internet that comes with any group. Wow lol, way to compare a moving car to a bucket in its ability to get you to places, what a productive discussion.
There is a point to be made about 'normies' in fandom spaces. About people coming into these spaces and acting as though they're owed something or they know what they're talking about. I don't like the broad sweeping generalizations and calls for censorship, but "the woke mob" is not out to get your anime. Nothing ever stays the same nor should it, sensibilities change.
Another point is the over-reliance on the authorTM, which goes hand in hand with lack of fandom etiquette and knowledge. Perhaps it's a bit weird to ask Ryoko Kui if Laios is autistic or not, considering the source material. Tagging the author or asking such things was usually considered unthinkable. I shudder at the thought of an author reading my fanfiction.
I mean, at the most basic, it's just not a work that discusses this nor should it be expected to. Why do you need for the author to validate your head-canons (name and all that are in YOUR head)? Ryoko Kui saying “everyone can relate to a person like him” and that he's bad with people does more for the community than any 'confirmation' would. It humanizes Laios. A declaration of a label would achieve mere recognition. It should be about the quality of the writing not whether the author uses a/the correct label or not.
Lack of genre awareness is also weird. "oMG XYZ anime is sooo weird and sexual, no one should see this", you're in the male oriented ecchi aisle, move out of the way. Don't set up camp on twitter, calling for censorship with you as the sole judge. It's very easy to block tags, creators, just not engage with things you don't enjoy.
In the end, I like to see a tit on my screen once in a blue moon, preferably from an appropriate source. Also characters/stories that aren't caricatures dating the work 50 years, that would be nice. Peace and love on the planet Earth.
Reblogging again with tags a follower added because they are correct. No you are not insane for reading that deeply into the overall reaction to SU and im glad you said it.
This sort of problem runs deep and i see it fucking everywhere.
#THIS DRIVES ME INSANE the diamonds weren't even redeemed steven still resented them#the diamonds are USEFUL when their powers work in reverse#especially yellow diamond. white and blue are kinda mid#killing them would be shooting urself in the foot
Sometimes I still see people being like "Steven shouldn't have forgiven the diamonds" and I'm like did we watch the same show?? He didn't forgive them???
Steven maintains a relationship of Diplomacy with the diamonds. That's it.
He can empathize with their loss, and he can understand their wish to keep him close. He has conditions in place for them being part of his life. This was THE WHOLE FUCKING POINT of the first 10 minutes of the movie. He has liberated gem colonies and used them to heal corruption and made huge efforts in keeping them in line when it comes to social structure and power for all gem kind.
people on this site will make the biggest scene whenever any of the crystal gems has the tiniest flaw but i don’t see ANYBODY talking about all of the innocent people steven callously stabs per episode ..? :/
its important, what kind of message is this to send to children? kids are gonna watch this and think that stabbing people is okay just because steven brutally, mercilessly slaughters his fellow Beach City residents by the dozen every single episode and nobody is there to tell him no. There too afraid of the knife
the only “grim adventures” ive ever seen are steven universe’s bloodthirsty massacres, when he stamps out entire villages using his famous trusty knife, in every episode of the show steven universe. men, women, children, steven doesn’t care . It Just How He Gets his Jollies
One thing about Steven Universe that we don't talk about enough is that he was a kind, giving, helpful person who was also just the absolute worst customer that every retail worker in the story had to deal with. Constantly.
Every shopkeep in Beach City was constantly living on the razor's edge of "I love this sweet boy dearly but if he doesn't get out of my shop right the fuck now I'm going to start lighting shit on fire"
bringing this over from twitter bc this person literally gets it. watching su for the first time i was literally shocked by how wonderfully toxic the yuri was there. thank you women 🙏
Imagine showing somebody the first episode of Steven Universe and then telling them that the sarcastic convenience store clerk is getting his own spin-off
Nothing is more corny and instant eye roll than queer men going "omg I hate men sooooo much #I support women's rights and wrongs" like jesus find a hobby or better yet actual feminism
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