Recognition of the Self and the Trans Experience
The metaphor of Steven fusing with himself works on so many levels that it’d probably take an academic paper to dissect it all.
Besides being generally applicable to self-love while also completing Steven’s story arc, it is also about parental heritage. It affirms that you’re not your parents and you don’t have to be. You’re not the mess they left behind, you’re more than your blood or genes, more than your ancestors, more than the abuse that runs in your family. You don’t have to perpetuate their mistakes. It is also, however, a beautiful allegory for being transgender.
The way that the diamonds try to negate his identity, calling him by the wrong name and pronouns, mirrors what trans people have to go through in their every day life. Family not accepting them, denying that things are broken, trying to control the trans person.
White Diamond literally forces Steven to convert into the person she wrongly believes him to be, harming and almost killing him in the process. Of course he is not going to be that person, because he can’t be. He’ll be Steven. Only injured and weakened because of her actions.
There is this moment where Steven looks at himself and realises that he should have been certain all along. He wasn’t confused. The diamonds were. The emotions spill over as he experiences a deep recognition of the Self. An unbelievable joy created by finally knowing yourself, accepting yourself, loving yourself!
Connie helps him get there. She delivers Steven to himself but she never directs the narrative. She carries him where he can’t go, but he tells her where that is. She is a shining example of what being an ally truly means. Without her, Steven would not have survived. And especially after this incredible weekend of outpouring support in H.Bomberguy’s livestream, the power of trans allyship becomes ever so clearer.
”I don’t need you to respect me, I respect me
I don’t need you to love me, I love me
But I want you to know you could know me If you change your mind"
Even though the real world is a much more dangerous place and this can be considered a naive attitude, it struck me
This is a beautiful and encouraging message for all marginalized groups, this is an episode for the Other. It is a utopian vision which we sometimes need. We need the reminder that even though there is cruelty, there is also love. And we need to love ourselves, too. We deserve it.
I love this because I need hope.
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