By: Alicia Whavers

I am pretty sure that at this point, if you haven’t watched one of those 13 minute episodes, then you have at least heard of the amazing awesomeness that is Steven Universe. And if you happen to know me, you would know that I am freaking obsessed with this show.

My love for Steven and the Crystal Gems was not an immediate thing. I remember the teaser trailers about the show back when I was a sophomore in college. Most of them consisted of a talking pearl, garnet, and amethyst floating through space with Steven (in the form of a Rose Quartz). And in the haze of school class, school drama, and work, I overlooked the show.

It was actually 2 years later when I sat down and saw my first episode “Cat Fingers”, that I thought “hey, maybe there is something to this show after all”. Instead of ignoring it when I saw the show’s title on the television guide, I began to watch it, usually only half paying attention.

It was the episode “Giant Woman” that finally got my attention. I could not actually believe what I was witnessing, and the importance of it. Was this a young, pleasantly plump boy, being save by, you guessed it, a GIANT WOMAN?! It sounds crazy, but watch the episode and it all makes sense. Pearl and Amethyst, two of Steven’s guardians, fused together to make a giant woman named Opal. A tall, shapely woman with four arms that walks en pointe, and uses a bow and arrow (a combination of Amethyst’s whip and Pearl’s spear), to kill monsters.

This was the show I did not know I was waiting for. Women who fight, and I mean fight. Women who do not cower, or turn to men for help. Women who rely and lean on each other for support. A young boy who sees these women as role models, and most importantly, individuals who are more than the traditional definitions of their sex.

And the best part is: no one questions it. Not a single person in the entire series ever question how it is that women are protectors of the earth. Steven never once questions their abilities, and actually strives to be like them. Even his father Greg, never doubts the Gems and their powers, nor their love for Steven.

For the first time in my life, at 21, I saw a show where the women could be thick and curvy – and still kick ass.

Be squat and a bit sloppy – and still kick ass.

Be a neat freak and do ballet – and still kick ass. 

Rebecca Sugar has created a show that has defied all stereotypes, preconceived notions, and assumptions about female fighters and their companions and smashed it with a hammer! I can’t wait to see what is coming up next!