Introduction

Abstract

Ziegler and Richards first explain the significance in Steven Universe of the alien Gems’ embodiment. Their bodies, as projections from their gemstones, are endlessly malleable, denaturalizing their sex, race, and gender. They can also “fuse” with one or more other Gems or humans, combining multiple bodies into one. The Gems’ embodiment, especially their ability to fuse, presents a subversive queerness. This queerness, however, is also inextricable from the franchise’s engagement with, for instance, class, race, colonialism, and environmental concerns. Ziegler and Richards then briefly contextualize Steven Universe within the science fiction tradition, positing fusion as the franchise’s novum, or the controlling novelty in a science fiction narrative. They provide a similar contextualization within the anime tradition, noting influences such as serialization and a greater presence of queerness and “good” monsters compared to American children’s animated television. In closing, Ziegler and Richards summarize the contributors’ chapters and point to additional avenues for future research.