Jem and the Holograms is before my time, but I had two VHS tapes that my tia got me for my birthday one year, which is how I was introduced to Jem. I have never actually sat down and watched the entire series up until now.

This scene right here is what I love so much about Jem/Jerrica. She isn’t the overly-chipper Barbie type that one might expect from a Hasbro production; she’s an assertive business woman with a strong sense of responsibility. Her work ethic is admirable and she isn’t afraid to take control and say ‘no’ when it feels appropriate for her. A lot of that seems to fly out the window for her adult baby boyfriend who legit throws temper tantrums and cheats on Jerrica with Jem on the daily, which she allows because they’re literally the same person lmao but we can’t all have winners. On paper, what Jerrica allows Rio to get away with may seem kind of realistic in flawed ways, but I don’t think realism was the intention behind the relationship when they wrote it out the way they did.

Anyway. I love this scene. Not only does Jem value her consent, but the dude respects it (for a little while, anyway - he’s persistent af). It’s evident that the standards are lower than hell, but it’s still nice to see from such an old GEM of a tv show.