From a Real Housewife of the Jersey Shore

From a Real Housewife of the Jersey Shore

MTV's Jersey Shore reality show has the locals all a-flutter. I heard on the radio how a lot of advertisers were pulling out because of the "Italian-American" controversy and the whole guido issue. I also heard that many of these same advertisers didn't stay out for very long when they saw how the ratings picked up. It also seems the advertisers aren't the only ones who can't agree about Jersey Shore.

At least that is how it looks from my facebook friends news-feed and recent invitations. First, I got invited to become a fan of the pages Boycott MTVs Jersey Shore, Cuz REAL Jersey isnt guido!!!! and People from New Jersey DO NOT act like " MTV's Jersey Shore" cast!!! Clicking over to my "live feed" news-feed I read a newsbreaking must-read very important "story" that my best friend's Jersey Shore Nickname is The Paris Hilton of Trenton with an invitation for me to try the What is Your Jersey Shore Nickname? generator and to become a fan of the same. Either way, pledging my allegiance to the first camp of anti-Jersey Shore or claiming a Jersey Shore Name of My Own would be published to however hundred FB "friends" I have and all the world to see including my mother. Ah, the joy of Facebook.

Here we go again, New Jersey's getting (in)famous by yet another misrepresented reality TV show.

First we had Bravo's The Real Housewives of New Jersey and now MTV's Jersey Shore. Neither represent my demographic even though there is some relevance. You see, I am indeed a real housewife/mom and I do live at the Jersey Shore. People who have never been to New Jersey get the impression that these shows are what "New Jersey is all about" which is a far stretch. Although, I do believe there is a small glimmer of truth in what and who they portray even if I have very little in common with these ladies.

Yes, there are some "real housewives" like the Dinas, Teresas, and the Carolines in New Jersey. Of course, more of "us" here are not like these real housewives. I watched the trainwreck called the Real Housewives of New Jersey and I really thought it wasn't a portrayal of New Jersey but rather the drama of these women's personal lives - they just happened to live here. This show could have taken place in any affluent community regardless of their being residents of "The Garden State".

And now we have MTV's Jersey Shore. A reality show about New Jersey Shore subculture that shows up close "real life" at the beach town of Seaside Heights. That would be about 15 minutes from where I live so I consider myself pretty qualified to dish about it. It happens that MTV stirred the pot because of the show promo that touted the "Hottest, Tannest, Craziest Guidos". The cast-members on this show, all but one of them are not from New Jersey - they are from New York - with their signature "Jersey Shore Names" ie. J-Woww, Snooki, and The Situation, and of course we have a Ronnie and a Vinnie. This show is laughable, but it is also a reality. It is a very small reality, but we do have people like this at the Jersey Shore. Am I one of "them"? Oh heck no.

There is a great divide in New Jersey - between North and South, between Benny and Local. The cast of Jersey Shore - they aren't the locals. They are what we locals have termed Bennies. The term Benny originally stood for Bayonne, Elizabeth, Newark, New York but has been expanded to include anyone who isn't from the Jersey Shore who comes here, acts rudely like they own the place, and looks and acts a certain way. Some boardwalks are notorious for a lot of Bennies, and Seaside is the worst for how many they are. I prefer the more family-friendly Point Pleasant "Jenkisons" Boardwalk, but even at Jenks you'll find them in the clubs and spot them right away with their spiked hair, tight clothes, and jewelry. And this is why, living here at the shore, we look forward to labor day weekend and the mass exodus of the Benny population year after year as all the bennies go home.

In the meantime, I'll watch Jersey Shore and roll my eyes and shake my head.

PS. My Jersey Shore Nickname is none other than "The Good Time"... Fist Pump.

Hrm. Now I have a decision to make: Like? Become a Fan? or hold my breath for the long-awaited and much petitioned for Dislike button?

New Jersey Moms Blog post by MaryTara. MT blogs her adventures in parenting two beautiful children on the Jersey Shore, life with autism & without it, the gluten & casein free diet, and vaccination choice issues at The Bon Bon Gazette and raising a child with amblyopia at Adventures in Amblyopia.