Rebecca Sugar on LGBTQ themes in Steven Universe

Steven Universe is often described as groundbreaking, as it’s one of few children’s cartoons to feature allusions to a same sex romance. In Friday’s SDCC panel and press interviews, series creator Rebecca Sugar elaborated on her personal connection to the show’s LGBTQ themes.

“In large part it’s based on my experience as a bisexual woman,” Sugar said. “It’s very important to me that we speak to kids about consent. That we speak to kids about identity. There’s so much more I have to say about this. I want to feel like I exist, and I want everyone else who wants to feel that way to feel that way too.”

In the Emmy-nominated episode titled “The Answer,” two of the Crystal Gems, Ruby and Sapphire, “fuse” into one gem, Garnet, for the first time. Though gems are technically described as genderless, the two characters are voiced by women, and the episode features clear parallels to the experience of coming out. When Ruby and Sapphire fuse, they are met with disgust and outrage by other gems, serving as a clear allusion to homophobia.

Getting the opportunity to sit down with creator Rebecca Sugar, I had to ask: “What was coming out like for Ruby and Sapphire?” Sugar said the relationship would be further explored and elaborated on in The Answer, a book set to release this fall.

full story: www.comicsbeat.com/sdcc-16-reb…