(No one on the Steven Universe production was available to comment). So set aside the many reasons fans could be upset by this censorship – that the characters are important to viewers, that later episodes rely on details established earlier on, or that it’s unfair to the artists who invest so much time and energy into considering how children will experience their work. Though the network has to work within the standards set by Ofcom, the regulatory body overseeing television in the UK, it ultimately makes its own decisions about what it thinks will be deemed or considered acceptable. Carli Velocci, a bisexual Steven Universe fan who has written about the show’s queerness, says, “The show’s queer fanbase is upset about this because, as a community that struggles with representation, it feels like they’re being ignored and erased.”Ĭartoon Network UK’s justification for the change is, in part, this: it doesn’t have specific program ratings the way the US does, so everything on the channel must be “suitable for kids of any age at any time” (this is why the network can’t show any programming from Cartoon Network’s late-night block, Adult Swim). It’s impossible, then, for the network to fully extricate itself from that broader context. Nickelodeon’s The Legend of Korra faced a similar “limit” in its depiction of a lesbian relationship which couldn’t move beyond hand-holding. Adventure Time has been forced to keep its depiction of Princess Bubblegum and Marceline’s relationship less than explicit. Culture writer Jake Pitre notes that “kids’ shows consistently downplay physical intimacy among queer couples”.Īnd even if there are ostensible reasons for editing out the Rose-Pearl dance that don’t relate to the participants’ gender, it slots neatly into the history of American kids shows censoring queerness for foreign audiences. It might be that anything this sensuous wouldn’t make it on the air, but it’s a much bigger problem for queer relationships, particularly when even the most prominent gay characters on TV barely get to display physical affection. Still, it’s difficult not to read the show’s queerness into the edges of the sanitized space created by the phrase “more comfortable”. So it appears it’s physical intimacy between two people that sets off the censors, rather than the possibility that those people are the same gender. Meanwhile, Clarence features an out lesbian couple as parents.Ī spokesperson for the network also pointed out that Cartoon Network UK had censored a heterosexual kiss between two human characters in the episode Island Adventure as well. The rest of Steven Universe, which is very, very gay, continues to air, as does Adventure Time, which has teased out the simmering romantic history between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen. The decision is made more puzzling by the fact Cartoon Network is incredibly progressive in so many other ways. We do feel that the slightly edited version is more comfortable for local kids and their parents.”Īdventure Time Photograph: Cartoon Network In the UK, we have to ensure everything on air is suitable for kids of any age at any time. The network said in a statement: “The US broadcast system requires that shows are marked with a rating– in this case PG (parental guidance necessary). The network edited the episode We Need to Talk to remove an intense moment when Pearl, one of the Gems, aggressively embraces Rose Quartz (Steven’s mom), playing up their closeness as a way of making Greg (Steven’s dad) jealous. That might be a question best addressed to Cartoon Network UK, which censored one of the show’s more explicitly gay moments. Why wouldn’t that be allowed on a kids show?” When fans questioned the nature of that connection, executive producer Ian Jones-Quartey wrote on his Tumblr, “They are two cute cartoon characters and they are in love. Garnet, one of the main Gems, is revealed to be a fusion between Gems Ruby and Sapphire – literally the embodiment of a romantic relationship between two women. This subtext is most often conveyed through the process of fusion, in which two Gems become one as a way of both combining their power and experiencing a new mode of being. ![]() But the most powerful thing about Steven Universe might be the fact that it’s not just a great kids show – it’s one of the most unabashedly queer shows on TV.
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