Handling Abusive Relationships in Steven Universe

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

“Steven Universe” is an animated series that shatters other television shows. It covers relationships, coping, homosexuality, and now how to handle an abusive relationship.

In the recent episode, “Alone at Sea” Lapis Lazuli is trying to come to terms with herself when she fused with Jasper. Fusion is a process where two gems come together to form one person. Fusion is often viewed as a relationship especially by Garnet who is always in her fusion state – when separated, Garnet becomes two individuals: Ruby and Sapphire.

Lapis discussed her feelings with Steven and is then confronted by Jasper. Both characters share signs of abuse throughout the episode that can be applied to abuse victims in real life.

Lapis believes she doesn’t deserve something as nice as a surprise boat trip, keeps her abuse a secret (until venting about it to Steven), blames everything on herself, doesn’t think she can handle being in charge of anything, believes she is a terrible person (especially for her time as Malachite), and has incredibly low self-esteem which in turn has hindered her growth and actions.

Jasper on the other hand wants to return to that toxic relationship. Jasper wants to exploit the fusion for its power and will do anything to be Malachite again. She begs despite knowing how damaging her time as Malachite was (which could allude to Stockholm syndrome), she stalks Lapis, she feeds Lapis’ self-degradation by calling her a brute, and is willing to annihilate those who oppose the Malachite fusion.

Yet despite Jasper’s pleas, Lapis stands up to her abusive partner. We see Lapis struggle to make the choice to fuse or not and ultimately, she declines. She doesn’t want to feel the same way she did when she was Malachite, she doesn’t want to be with Jasper. She makes herself clear and firm in her decision and even defends Steven when Jasper attempts to de-gem him for convincing Lapis not to fuse.

Lapis is an example of an abuse victim who handles the situation properly with clarity and resistance. Lapis is a beacon for victims to reflect upon: they should tell people about their abuse, they should not let their abuser do as they please, they should not give into their abuser, and they should stand up to them. Albeit, these are complicated concepts for victims to achieve let alone perform, but they must be done in order to progress their growth. Lapis has stood up to Jasper and with it, she is beginning to grow. So many can do the same thing when they take their first steps in confronting their abuser just as Lapis did.

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So tell me, what are your thoughts on “Steven Universe”?