ABSTRACT
Science fiction is a genre about White boys and their toys, or so the saying goes. While not intended to refer to literal young people, this turn of phrase utilizes the concept of immaturity to encapsulate the gendered, raced, and generic assumptions often attached to the genre. Yet recent science fiction stories for young audiences that disrupt genre binaries often disrupt binary definitions of gender and race as well, and in ways that do not underestimate children as an audience. The middle grade novel Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee (2019) and the animated television series Steven Universe (2013–2019) are two texts that disrupt the science fiction/fantasy divide to imagine a queer future without the restrictions of realism and radically reimagine our world through embracing fluid definitions of genre and gender. Dragon Pearl is a space adventure infused with Lee’s cultural and transgender experiences, which manifest in a Korean-influenced future and shapeshifting across gender. Stephen Universe is an alien invasion and rebellion narrative featuring explicitly queer, intersectional aliens that utilize technology alongside seemingly magical powers. By mixing elements of science fiction and fantasy and featuring characters with differently sexed, gendered, raced, and abled identities, Dragon Pearl and Steven Universe challenge viewers to think past the heteronormative gender binary and endorse complex, genre-bending speculation as suitable material for children’s media. These stories demonstrate that when creators of science fiction for children can break out of the dichotomous definitions that confine both children and genre, they can reimagine science fiction as a genre for queer, BIPOC kids and their toys.
