Suds Richardson
Staff Reporter
Steven Universe has a lot of issues. Over the course of my time on the Eagle’s Eye Newspaper, I will be deconstructing the different things that plague the all too popular show. For this article, the focus will be shifted a bit off the show itself but the biggest issue surrounding it: Racism. Though it may not seem that way, Sugar has done a terrible job of representing people of color and especially the black community. Sugilite, Bismuth, and Concrete are all horrid examples of the truly racist nature of Steven Universe.
Sugilite, being the lightest offense, is the fusion between the two black-coded characters Garnet and Amethyst. Coding in characters is when a character is represented to be a certain race, sexuality, or identity without canonically being able to be. Black-coding in Steven Universe would be how Garnet and Amethyst have stereotypical black traits and appearances such as Garnet’s darker skin and Amethyst’s mannerisms of the stereotyped black woman. With that context, when Garnet and Amethyst fuse they create Sugilite. This is a violent, brute, and destructive fusion who immediately gets out of control as soon as they fuse, yielding a whip as their weapon. Sugilite then goes to destroy the beach and surrounding area but the day is saved when the white and dainty Pearl subdues the large, angry black woman, protecting Steven from her as well. This is compounded with the fact that earlier Pearl sings a song of, “Being strong in the real way,” earlier in the episode and it is implied that she is strong in the real way by taking down Sugilite. This implication of the dainty small white woman taking down the large angry black woman, and saving the children with that, is disgusting and further hurts those who are affected by this harmful stereotype. The racist nature of this plot is only topped with the fact that Sugilite is voiced by Nikki Minaj as the sassy black woman so many see her be, only compounding on the stereotypical and racist nature of Steven Universe.
Another painful example is Bismuth. In the episode Bismuth, the titular character has created a weapon to shatter the gems, effectively killing, the homeworld gems. The Crystal Gems have been fighting against the homeworld’s tyranny for freedom against their oppressors for millennia and Bismuth has created a weapon to finally defeat them once and for all. However, once shown to Steven, it is received poorly. Steven responded, “Shattering gems? Wouldn’t that make us just as bad as homeworld?” The parallel to real-world oppressors is hard to ignore. As the white savior Steven is written to be, he believes that shattering the oppressor is going too far, despite them ruling in tyranny and shattering millions in their path as they rule. Then he goes on to subdue and take down the gem who is seen as ‘too radical’ against oppressors just as Pearl took down Sugilite. This clearly parallels real-world minorities being put down by the majority in their fight to be equal and free just as everyone else and shows, once again, the racism of Steven Universe.
The worst offense by far is depicted here. Entitled Concrete, this ‘gem’ is a disgusting replica of the caricatures of black people from the early 1900s. With exaggerated lips and shape, and traits of illiteracy and bashfulness, this speaks for itself.
These all showcase the lack of good representation in Steven Universe and the racism that pours from it.
Image Credit: Lama Abrams
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