Any time someone asks a hard question about the gems' gender/sexuality, it is always dodged by the crew and CN with "genderless space rocks". Discount Lesbians is a trope, and every major lesbian in the show falls under that trope.
Additionally, the argument that Sardonyx is completely portrayed as positive, while Sugilite is completely portrayed as negative, is ignoring the end of Sardonyx' introductory episode: where Sardonyx is taken completely off the table because Pearl fucked up, and Sugilite is brought in to solve the problem with no complaints from anyone, herself or otherwise.
*is bored*
*checks thread*
not this shit again
moved to Oceanstuck because this handle was starting to bother me my tumblr
x4 It's true that Pearl doesn't have thick lips, while Amethyst and Garnet do, but Rose also has thick lips, and I think most people have her as coded-white. Meanwhile, Bismuth does not have thick lips. Point being, I'm not sure if that's a reliable indicator either.
(Also worth noting that Yellow Diamond appears to have thick lips as well. Make of that what you will.)
edited 24th Sep '16 5:16:57 PM by KarkatTheDalek
Oh God! Natural light!It's very obvious that we are supposed to see the Gems as female, and characters like Ruby, Sapphire, and Pearl as lesbians. That shouldn't be dodged. and should be accepted as such. Rebecca Sugar has made it very clear that this is a message that should come across.
They're also alien rocks, because a cartoon Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Comedy series is awesome.
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From the article itself:
They're not referred to as gay in the show, but interviews (and the subtext of the show) have made it clear.
edited 24th Sep '16 5:19:37 PM by SilentColossus
@Ruise: Like I said in my original post, I like the show, I like the characters. That doesn't stop me from being made uncomfortable by certain things the show does that I find offputting or offensive. I also have issues with We Bear Bears for how the one major asian character is a genius who attends college despite being incredibly young.
Liking a show doesn't mean I can't point out failings when I see them.
edited 24th Sep '16 5:20:49 PM by smokeycut
The solution to this would probably to include recurring human LGBT characters, whose status as such is made plainly evident to the viewer.
I'm wondering, however, if the Gems being space rocks is the only way Cartoon Network will allow it. I'm not really willing to lay the blame at the Crewinverse's feet here, I suppose.
Oh God! Natural light!As no one in show says "technically they're not woman" it really doesn't count as much of a dodge. It's more obvious behind the scenes than it is in series.
The Crystal Caverns A bird's gotta sing.@Collosus: Oh. I guess that explains why people say Pearl is coded as white, when she isn't really coded as anything, then. :/
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Yeah, The Loud House does have a recurring gay couple. They're the dads of the main character's best friend.
edited 24th Sep '16 5:27:24 PM by DeathsApprentice
When we're done, there won't be anything left.Yep, Clyde's parents. They don't outright blare "look they're a gay married couple" but it's pretty obvious without being Anvilicious or token. Also a pretty funny scene in its own right. Not sure if it's up on Youtube anymore though.
I'm not really a fan of "coding" because often it often turns out to be full of confirmation bias or post hoc analysis (see: all the times a seemingly straight character is claimed to be "coded" as queer for the sake of Shipping Goggles rather than genuine Ship Tease). I can sorta see why Pearl is seen by some people as coded white because she's got light skin and hair and eyes, but coding implies a level of intentionality on the part of the showrunners that's unlikely to be there.
Also it reads of reinforcing the whole "white as default" Mukokuseki problem. For my part (and this might be a minority opinion) nowadays I tend to "see" Pearl as Asian partly because of her VA and partly because as an Asian American who grew up in a majority Asian community and knew other Asian American women who sounded like that, it became an easy assumption to make.
edited 24th Sep '16 5:32:21 PM by AlleyOop
http://bloodnok.net/wav/hullo-jeeeeem1.wav
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I know that Clarence has gay characters, but I'm curious: how often to they appear, and what do they do (i.e. how intimate are they?)?
To be fair, this specific issue: that all of the Gems (and only the Gems) who could possibly be coded black are representations of negative black stereotypes if you squint your eyes and tilt your head hard enough while looking at the show through a black-tinted microscope, isn't actually an issue that has come up in this thread before.
For fuck's sakes, even Gravity Falls ended with a confirmation that yes, Blubs and Durland are gay as hell.
If anything, you know what I'm more disappointed with? How Adventure Time refuses to outright confirm that Marceline and Princess Bubblegum were a couple. Steven Universe allegedly using discount lesbianism isn't something I agree with, but Adventure Time keeps on implying it so much without outright stating it that I'm halfway tempted to call it queerbaiting (if the term didn't make me want to vomit).
Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?

We also have to keep in mind that Nicki Minaj and Uzo Aduba are likely much harder to get than any other actor. Especially Nicki Minaj. So before saying they're benched because racism, also think about budget and availability.
Part of me thinks the reason some people are saying Pearl is coded as white, and Jasper and Amethyst as black, is because Pearl lacks features like thick lips, unlike Amethyst and Jasper.
I'm not accusing anybody in this thread of that, nor even the authors of those articles, but I wouldn't be surprised if some people felt that way.
edited 24th Sep '16 5:10:07 PM by SilentColossus