( No Title )
One thing I love about Steven Universe is that for gems, all attraction and romance is queer attraction and romance. In gem culture there is no culturally normative model to experience, it’s all taboo.
You could theoretically argue that hierarchical relationships are considered socially appropriate gem relationships–but they are actually single direction transactional relationships only. The higher status gem benefits from the lower status gem’s service without any intended experience of deeper meaning.
The hierarchical relationships we see between the gems (Rose and Pearl, Sapphire and Ruby) are still queer and queered, because they’re experiencing a shared, romanticized relationship rather than a purely transactional one.
We see Rose (Pink) actively punished for getting too close to her first Pearl, and obviously we see Sapphire initially rejecting (and being confused by) the overzealous devotion (romance) of Ruby.
Discussion ¬