Stevonnie

Stevonnie
Steven Universe character
First appearance "Alone Together" (2015)
Created by Rebecca Sugar
Voiced by AJ Michalka
Information
Gender Non-binary

Stevonnie (/stəˈvɒni/ stə-VON-ee) is a fictional character from the 2013 animated series Steven Universe, created by Rebecca Sugar. A "fusion" of the protagonist Steven Universe and his friend Connie Maheswaran, Stevonnie is portrayed as a beautiful and androgynous teenager. First introduced in the episode "Alone Together", Stevonnie only appears occasionally in the series.

Character

One of the core concepts in Steven Universe is a process referred to as "fusion", in which two characters dance with one another in order to merge into one being who is physically larger and stronger. Fusion is used by the writers of the show as a metaphor for a range of types of intimacy and relationships.[1] The episode "Alone Together", first broadcast January 15, 2015, focuses on protagonist Steven's first experience with fusion while dancing with his friend Connie.

Steven and Connie identify as male and female respectively, but the gender of Stevonnie is difficult to describe. Rebecca Sugar, the creator of Steven Universe, referred to an inquiry on Stevonnie's gender—whether Stevonnie is agender, bigender, or something else—by stating that "Stevonnie is an experience! The living relationship between Steven and Connie." Sugar described Stevonnie as a complex and specific metaphor, that becomes relatable as it takes shape in the form of a unique character. Besides challenging gender norms, Stevonnie serves as a metaphor for "terrifying firsts in a first relationship," the feeling of hitting puberty, and objectification.[2][3]

Stevonnie is voiced by actress and musician AJ Michalka.

Stevonnie is commonly referred to using gender neutral pronouns (such as the singular they), and both male and female characters seem to be physically attracted to Stevonnie.[4][5]

Appearances

Stevonnie appears only occasionally in episodes of Steven Universe. In "Alone Together", Steven and Connie fuse for the first time, and Stevonnie enjoys the capabilities of their new body before having an anxiety attack at a party and fending off unwelcome advances from Kevin, an arrogant teenager. Other episodes in which Stevonnie plays a starring role include the third season's "Beach City Drift", in which they challenge Kevin to a car race; the fourth season's "Mindful Education", in which Garnet teaches them mindfulness meditation to deal with difficult emotions; and the fifth season's "Jungle Moon", in which they are stranded on an alien planet.

In a March 2017 comic (written by Melanie Gillman and drawn by Katy Farina and Whitney Cogar), Stevonnie goes with supporting character Kiki Pizza to her school prom. At the dance, Stevonnie has another anxiety attack, followed by Steven and Connie discussing whether they are lying to Kiki about their identity.[6]

Impact

Meredith Woerner of io9 described Stevonnie as a "big game changer character" for Steven Universe, who got a strong reaction from fans of the series.[3] Writing for Towleroad.com, Charles Pulliam-Moore stated that Stevonnie deepened the way that watchers understood some of Steven Universe's core characters.[2] Carli Velocci, writing for Polygon commented that Stevonnie is a positive metaphor for consent, in an entirely non-sexual context.[1] Greta Christina of AlterNet noted that Steven and Connie continued to check in with one another during the first experience as Stevonnie, which she described as "an amazing example of ongoing, active consent."[7] Vrai Kaiser of The Mary Sue said of the character that "there are few things more refreshing than seeing children's media acknowledge that feeling negative emotions is a part of life. Taking a tack not dissimilar to Inside Out, the show uses visual metaphor to deal with complex, intangible emotions."[8]

Animated series airing on television networks Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon have shown a greater amount of LGBT visibility since 2010, with shows such as The Legend of Korra and Adventure Time including same-sex relationships. Steven Universe has a significant amount of LGBT representation as well, featuring multiple feminine characters that show romantic attraction directed to each other. As a genderqueer character, Stevonnie follows this same movement, and has encouraged people to be more open about their gender.[5][9]

References

  1. 1 2 Velocci, Carli (2015-07-14). "What a children's show can teach us about sex and healthy relationships". Polygon.
  2. 1 2 Pulliam-Moore, Charles (2015-03-20). "'Steven Universe' Creator Opens Up About Creating Gender-Fused Character, Stevonnie". Towleroad.com.
  3. 1 2 Woerner, Meredith (2015-05-14). "Steven Universe Guidebook Spills The Secrets Of The Crystal Gems". io9.
  4. ↑ Payton, Naith (2015-07-17). "Comment: Lots of children's programmes already have LGBT characters". Pink News.
  5. 1 2 Ewart, Asia (2015-06-10). "Four cartoons that are leading the way in LGBT visibility". Metro New York.
  6. ↑ Schenkel, Katie (2017-03-24). "Good Thing: Learning With Stevonnie In The 'Steven Universe' Comic". Comics Alliance.
  7. ↑ Christina, Greta (2016-07-30). "5 Amazing Love Scenes Where Pop Culture Got Consent Exactly Right". AlterNet.
  8. ↑ Kaiser, Vrai (2016-08-26). "Steven Universe Recap: Mindful Education". The Mary Sue.
  9. ↑ Mey (2015-03-13). ""Steven Universe" and the Importance of All-Ages Queer Representation". Autostraddle.
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