Why Do People Take “Jersey Shore” Seriously?

By Amanda Pendolino on January 6th, 2010

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I’m not a Jersey Shore hater; I actually think it’s pretty entertaining. But what I don’t understand is why so many academics and writers are taking it seriously. In a new article in The Daily Beast, blogger Nicole LaPorte claims that Jersey Shore “is actually undoing age-old stereotypes and replacing them, for better or worse, with a progressive, and even revolutionary, model of prima donna that is more Lady Gaga than Victoria Gotti.” She calls Snooki and JWOWW “feminists” and “aggressive predators who, if anything, objectify the men they’re so intent on scoring.”

Yes, Jersey Shore has become a social phenomenon. Yes, the women of the show don’t let men stop them (except for an occasional punch in the face) from being sexually liberated. But feminists? I don’t know. “They’re empowered sexually, that’s what I’m seeing on Jersey Shore,” said Donald Tricarico, a sociology professor at City University of New York/Queensborough. “The women seem to be making their own decisions about who they sleep with and when.” Okay, I think Don is right, but here’s the bigger question: why are we interviewing sociology professors about Jersey Shore in the first place? Why is Alyssa Milano going on the record with her disapproval? What has the world come to?

Instead, we all should take the Michael Cera approach to Jersey Shore: put a metric ton of gel in your hair, eat some pizza, and have some fun. (He recently hung out with Pauly D, who helped him perfect that hot, spiky ‘do.) Who’s with me?