This tweet went out several months ago, but we still haven't seen Jasper since. A lot of times, the butch villain character is just that. They're there to be an ugly, formidable bad guy, and nothing else. But it seems like Jasper may be in for a redemption arc. Why is this important? Check out the fan theory below!
i want to talk about how important jasper is. not to steven universe’s narrative, but because of what she represents.
she’s a butch character whose butchness isn’t a punchline in the show. she is allowed to be butch without shame, because why should she be ashamed?
but my major concern regarding jasper is the possibility that she could be just another evil or comic relief butch character if she’s not utilised effectively. i’m hoping steven universe won’t go down this route; but if they do, they’ll be wasting the rarest archetype in western media- an archetype which is scarcely ever afforded positive representation.
and that’s the thing about jasper. she may be given the opportunity to become one of the good guys. we might get a butch hero out of steven universe. when does that ever happen?
growing up, i encountered mrs trunchbull, the masculine, abusive, ugly antagonist in mathilda, who stood in stark contrast with feminine, sweet, demure miss honey. i remember mrs stellenbosch, from anthony horowitz’s alex rider series; the cigar-smoking, gorilla-like weightlifter, who wanted to reinstitute apartheid in south africa. just a few weeks ago, i gave up on watching the supergirl tv show in disgust, after one too many homophobic comments, and supergirl herself referred to a masculine antagonist as a “beast-thing”.
butch characters are invariably the joke, the bad guy, or both. very rarely, we get to see a woman in a suit. most of the time, however, we get teen movies, in which the tomboy protagonist is given a girly make-over. we get evil butches, and comic relief butches, and we’re reminded again and again that masculinity is only an attractive trait when it’s applied to cis men.
jasper stands to subvert this trend. in jasper, we have the possibility of genuine, positive representation in the mainstream media.
that’s why a jasper redemption arc is so important. that’s why jasper is so important.
Twitter: Emerald