Reality Television

A formerly popular reality television show a few years ago was "Jersey Shore." All of the characters are extremely gendered, especially the men of the group. The four men on the show are all very strong and attractive men, and they display a lot of masculinity. The men on this show were seen almost as role models that people wanted to live up to in order to be considered cool. The cast of jersey shore influenced our society to make outward physical appearance a priority, and changed the way many view and treat women. On the show, the men popularized the phrase "GTL," which stands for gym, tanning, and laundry. They would spend their days by going to the gym to get stronger and look fit, by getting a tan in a tanning bed or out in the sun, and then doing their laundry so they could go out at night and look nice. People who watched the Jersey Shore stereotyped all men to be like the men from Jersey Shore. People believed that all men prioritized going to the gym every day and getting as big and strong as they possibly can. People also believed that all men cared about looking good at the beach, so they would get tans all the time. Jersey Shore heavily gendered the men based on masculine attributes, and established a false stereotype of the male gender. The men of Jersey shore also treated women disrespectfully, which is how women believe men stereotypically treat women. The men of Jersey Shore did not look to engage in a romantic relationship, nor did they approach women with respect to their feelings. Ultimately, the men of Jersey Shore were only looking to hook up with women, or bring them back to the house for the night. The men would go to all sorts of parties with this goal to bring back a girl to their house or to hook up with a girl. Because of the popularity of the show, the male audience was influenced to believe that the proper way to treat women is to use them as hook ups. It created a new gender stereotype for men, and have almost put a black eye on men and their moral values. The Jersey Shore is a good example of how reality TV is gendered. Present day common male stereotypes of how men treat women and how men value physical appearance were displayed through the men on Jersey Shore. Men were largely misrepresented for the most part based on common stereotypes, and the Jersey Shore had a negative impact on its audience and how they treat women.