Stereotypes run rampant in American culture. The recent popular program, Jersey Shore is an excellent example of the stereotype Guido and Guidette. The participants in the program Jersey Shore exude a specific image and behavior that can be applied to the title Guido/Guidette. “Since popular culture deals with the symbolic realm of social life, the images which it creates, represents, and disseminates contribute to the overall racial climate” (Omi 656). Michael Omi’s novel In Living Color: Race and American Culture focuses on how race is what society judges people by the stereotypes that come from racism. Different cultural artifacts allude to different stereotypes for certain races. “Emerging social definitions of race and the “real American: were reflected in American popular culture of the nineteenth century. Racial and ethnic stereotypes were shaped and reinforced in the newspapers, magazines, and pulp fiction of the period” (Omi 658).
A cultural artifact that I would like to dissect today would be; Australian Gold JWOWW Black Bronzer Dark Tanning Lotion. When first reading what cultural artifact I decided to use to explain how certain cultural artifacts constitutes a stereotype of racial identity one would not immediately think; Oh Australian Gold JWOWW Black Bronzer Dark Tanning Lotion! This cultural artifact Australian Gold JWOWW Black Bronzer Dark Tanning Lotion is a product from the Australian Gold industry. Australian Gold has indoor and outdoor tanning lotions and protectors for the skin.
For the last four years the hit show Jersey Shore has made it known to the world that the cast members are tan Guidos and Guidettes. Urban Dictionary describes conditions of watching Jersey Shore and fake tanning as Guidosis; A condition caused by watching too much Jersey Shore or going to clubs infested with too many Guidos and Guidettes. Similar to zombie-ism. Orange spray tan may rub off on you, you may find yourself doing the Guido first pump, turning up your collar on your white shirt, talking like a douche or picking up skanky bleached blondes or Guidettes” (Urban Dictionary). Jenni Farley or more commonly known as JWOWW and Australian Gold created; Australian Gold JWOWW Black Bronzer Dark Tanning Lotion.
This product is an indoor tanning lotion is one of 2011's new bronzing products on the market. It features bronzing agents such as black currant and kukui oil. Once these two ingredients are in a tanning lotion it is easy to receive an ultra-dark and super rich tan. It is always important to remember to hydrate your skin when exposing it to UV light. On the product they make sure to mention that UV rays are not only unhealthy for your skin but also tend to dry it out, make it look rough and older. Once they make this specific point to say that there are bad things that tanning can do to your skin they make the point to say that JWOWW is a special tanning lotion with the best vitamins and minerals to provide the deepest level of hydration. Australian Gold JWOWW lotion includes vitamins and Hemp Seed Extract to moisturize skin. If you have ever gone tanning before one may have noticed that they do not always smell the greatest, but once again to make JWOWW look like the best tanning lotion its scent is Ballin' Berry scent that will leave you smelling absolutely delicious. JWOWW Indoor Lotion comes in a teardrop shaped black plastic bottle. It creates a sense of elegance with gold throughout. In the center there is a gold plate design that says "JWOWW" in bold simple black font. Slightly lower "BLACK BRONZER" is written in simple thin gold font making it clear to the buyer who created this product and what exactly the customer will receive from using this dark tanning lotion. The cap is plastic. This indoor tanning product comes in a 13.5 ounce bottle and in the tanning salons potentially in little packets for only a couple uses. As if this product needs anymore marketing Jenni Farley uses her Facebook account to advertise her various Australian Gold products;
“You wanna know what spray tan i was using on Snooki's ass lol it was my new 360 bottle. 1st spray tan ever that allows you to flip the can any way you want and it never clogs and aerosol wont break. I tested this stuff daily on myself in Italy and some of my roommates. I won’t accept anything but perfection when it comes to my tan. Anyone who uses this or my lotion will get that perfect color :)” (Jenni Farley Facebook).
Australian Gold JWOWW Black Bronzer Dark Tanning Lotion is a cultural artifact that pertains to a stereotype of racial identity. The stereotype of “The Guido” traditionally meant the parents and grandparents spoke or had knowledge of other languages, were dark in complexion, may not have been educated, had names that were hard to pronounce, considered family and close friends as the only people who could really be trusted, lived in houses full of bleeding-heart crucifixes, plastic fruit, glasses of wine at dinner, and other objects used to express pride of economic successes in the new country. However, Jersey Shore twisted the definition of a person that performs “GTL” every single day. One may ask what the hell “GTL” is; going to the gym, tanning, and doing laundry (washing the clothes one is planning to wear out that night). As you can see I focused on tanning; Australian Gold JWOWW Black Bronzer Dark Tanning Lotion. Tanning lotion in essence is assumed to be for very light skinned people looking to improve their coloring, and by using tanning lotion this aids one in achieving their goal.
One may think that tanning is just for people that are of white coloring, and have trouble tanning. This is a misconception or a stereotype. If a person of African American decent was to go into a tanning salon, or purchase tanning lotion say Australian Gold JWOWW Black Bronzer Dark Tanning Lotion that person would receive a look of confusion. Being of a dark skin tone does not mean one cannot improve their tan with tanning lotion or going to a tanning salon. Through Michael Omi’s novel In Living Color: Race and American Culture one opens their eyes to the hypocrisy that racism has brought and still brings to our country.
The popular program Jersey Shore illustrates how a cultural stereotype can be perpetuated. The stereotype is further exploited by the popularity of the individual characters of Jersey Shore and the products they promote. As stated above, the mantra of the Jersey Shore participants is “GTL”. Gym. Tan. Laundry. Tanning is one of the daily activities and important part of the Jersey Shore culture, thus perpetuating the Italian stereotype of Guido and Guidette.
