Note: To spare you the confusion, when we're talking about the aesthetic in question, we will be referring to the aesthetic in normal lettering while any references to the show will be italicized for your convenience.
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The Jersey Shore subculture first started rising in prominence around the mid-to-late 2000s and eventually fell out of style in the early 2010s. It was centered around the stereotyped perception of Italian-Americans from around the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area. Its meteoric rise and fall coincide with the smash hit MTV reality TV show Jersey Shore. The Jersey Shore subculture has historically been associated with working-class urban Italian-Americans and a heightened sense of machismo among men. While the term itself dates back to the 1970s-1980s, the modern aesthetic that is often associated with the Jersey Shore didn't become popular until the mid-to-late 2000s, starting off as an internet meme before MTV decided to capitalize on the trend with the Jersey Shore television series.
Visuals[]
The Jersey Shore visual aesthetic typically depicts lots of New Jersey beaches, shore houses, gyms/health clubs, beach boardwalks & boardwalk shops, tanning salons, flashy fashion, sports cars, and night clubs. Italian flags are also often used in Jersey Shore visual aesthetics due to the high percentage of individuals of Italian descent that participate in the subculture.
Fashion[]
Jersey Shore style is typical of what you'd see on MTV's Jersey Shore:
Fashion[]
- mid-tier brands such as
- Ed Hardy
- Affliction
- Tapout
- Playboy
- Italian luxury brands such as
- Gucci
- Armani
- Versace
- Dolce & Gabbana
- flashy jewelry (aka bling)
- religious imagery such as crosses and rosaries (due to the high amount of Italian-Americans who are Catholic)
- Italian flag imagery (or simply the colors of the Italian flag)
- animal print (leopard print is popular)
Hair / Body[]
- very darkly tanned skin (achieved mostly via indoor tanning beds and sometimes made even darker with fake tanning products)
- tattoos and some facial piercings (such as nose and monroe piercings)
For Men:[]
- "blow-outs" and other heavily-gelled hairstyles made famous by DJ Pauly D
- buzzcuts/very short hairstyles
- very muscular bodies (sometimes aided with anabolic steroid/HGH use)
For Women:[]
- long straight or slightly wavy hair (usually achieved with faux extensions)
- the "Poof" hairstyle made famous by Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi
- very lean and toned bodies
- heavy makeup with an emphasis on dark eye makeup, glossy lips, and thick bronzer
- long acrylic nails
Language[]
The Jersey Shore subculture has its own terminology and popular slang words, some of which follow:
- Battle/Battling: Dancing aggressively with one another, typically at a nightclub
- Chicken Cutlet: Silicone/gelatin pad (similar in looks to a chicken cutlet) inserted into one's bra to push up the breasts and make them appear larger
- Cooka/Kooka: Vagina
- Creep Mode: When a man goes out in pursuit of a woman with whom to engage in sexual activities, he is "in creep mode"
- Done: When a woman is in the middle of an argument, typically with her boyfriend, she will often say this to signal she is stopping the argument
- D.T.F.: "Down to Fuck"; if one is amenable to sexual activity, they are D.T.F.
- Smash/Smush: To have sex
- Fist-Pumping: Popular dance and the one most associated with the Jersey Shore in which one makes a fist, holds it in the air, and pumps it in any direction to the beat of the music
- Grenade: Disparaging term, typically used by men, to signify women who they perceive as unattractive
- Gorilla Juicehead: Muscular bodybuilder-type man that may or may not have achieved their body through the use of steroids (hence the term "juicehead"); often shortened to just Gorilla
- Robbery: Act of stealing someone's attention away from a person who was previously flirting with them when they were temporarily distracted
- Sloppy: Extremely intoxicated
Music[]
The most popular style of music within the Jersey Shore aesthetic is, undoubtedly, House music or any sort of music you'd hear blasting at a night club late into the night.
Spotify playlists[]
- JERSEY SHORE ANTHEMS playlist by CIISNERO
- JERSEY SHORE PARTY FLASHBACKS playlist by julieortiz137
- Vibe Dealers Presents...: Jersey Shore Anthems playlist by Vibe Dealers Official
- Jersey Shore Summers playlist by Kailey Decker
Other famous local musicians from the Jersey Shore area include Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi.
Gallery[]
Under Construction
References[]
- ↑ Those who participate in the Jersey Shore subculture are often nicknamed slurs that target Italian-American people, which won't be listed on this page to keep it civil.