Although not the first empathetic hero out there (e.g., Aang from Avatar The Last Airbender (2005–2008) also comes to mind), the existence of hero’s like Steven is the refutation of a type of storytelling decades, arguably even centuries, in the making. His use of empathy in the original series challenged the very values we think a hero should have.

Nintendo means something to queer people around the world. These were the stories we grew up with. Although Nintendo has not handled the issue of gender particularly well, that proximity to childhood means that plenty of queer people saw themselves in ambiguously gendered characters such as Zelda, Vivian, and Birdo.

The series is at war with itself as it strikes a balance between affirming its male fans' toxic fantasy of feeling special, while simultaneously easing those said fans into the reality that women can be heroes too. It creates a chimera soldered together by empowerment and misogyny alike. This makes the show cringeworthy to watch at times, and enjoyable at others.

The portrayal of Whiterose from the TV show Mr. Robot, though controversial and flawed, will undoubtedly represent a shift in how we will perceive trans characters in the future. She is one of modern cinema’s most enticing villains, and yet, one has to ask: is this portrayal the breaking of a trend or the enforcement of one?

For most of the Star Wars universe, the Sith and Jedi represent the two sides of “traditional” masculinity. Feelings are framed either as a weapon or a weakness. You can either lash out against the world as a Sith or bury your feelings deep inside yourself as a Jedi. The Jedi Order is composed of a group of repressed men (and a few women) who would rather watch the galaxy burn than talk about their feelings.

Players have the right to be dicks in video games, and that’s being exploited by white supremacists. It allows for an outlet of expression that, while not necessarily homicidal, can enable members of the “alt-right” to make crossroads with gamers “hypothetically” reconstructing the Third Reich in space. This type of play style exposes a minority of gamers to radicalization, and we need to ask if these types of narratives are necessary for players to have fun.

People might not be criticizing our current system of work — not because it provides them profound meaning — but because doing so invites intense social stigma that jeopardizes their ability to subsist within our capitalist system.