ok but SU is also great at dismantling toxic masculinity.
steven cries and is nurturing and is emotional and has an openly loving relationship with his dad and isnt ashamed of any of it. he’s friendly and sweet and isn’t violent at all—-his weapon is a shield for fucks sake. hes probably one of the nicest characters on the show and doesnt feel the need to prove himself as tough or manly aside from a couple of random jokes every few episodes.
boys and men are often shown to be emotionally open and honest and loving in this show and i really think thats something kids need to see and learn from
And, in the one episode Steven was told to “toughen up” and “be a man” or whatever, not only was the source (Lars) immediately shown to be silly and wrong when he was unable to open a pickle jar and Sadie was, Steven’s idolization of the physical strength and hyperaggression of Sugilite was shown to be misplaced and damaging. Pearl showed him that being strong in “the real way” was about conflict resolution and thinking things through rather than relying on strength and aggression. So SU actually directly confronted toxic masulinity- it demonstrated the things emblematic of it (aggressons and emphasis on “toughness” and physical strength) to be hard to control and inherently damaging, and Steven’s obsession with it after having his masculinity questioned to be wrong. That’s honestly a valuable message for little boys.
Also the recent episode confirms Steven really likes weddings and romantic stuff, something little boys are generally discouraged to like for fear of being seen as weak, so that’s also great.