I want my Snooki: MTV’s failed subjects and post-feminist ambivalence in and around theJersey Shore

Abstract

As a sexually promiscuous and outrageously flamboyant young woman, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi of MTV's Jersey Shore (2009)(2010)(2011)(2012) could be said to be the ultimate example of Angela McRobbie's postfeminist subject. However, as pervasive as post-feminist narratives have become in popular culture, the figure of Snooki problematizes its ideal forms of femininity and meritocratic success. In this paper I argue that Snooki's potential challenges to post-feminist ideology were contained by news reporting on her at the height of her fame. This analysis posits a noteworthy divide in that those most inclined to watch/consume Snooki-as-text (the MTV audience) likely remained beyond the reach of the news media's attempt to re-inscribe hegemonic ideologies onto her star image/text. I examine the relation between Snooki-as-text (the Snooki presented on Jersey Shore) and the extra-textual attempts to undermine her popularity and legitimacy. I frame this discussion along three axes of transgression and containment: the sexual empowerment/threat paradigm; the physical markings of class and ethnic subjectivity; and the textual boundaries of meritocratic success. Despite efforts to contain her, Snooki's short-lived success hints at an ambivalence toward postfeminism today that could help chart a revitalized form of feminist politics within youth-driven popular culture.

Even You can Turn Trash Into Treasure: Reality TV and Secondhand Markets at the Jersey Shore

“…Likewise, hegemonic gendered and sexualized portrayals on RTV had remained consistent in reinforcing traditional roles, and transgressions only occurred within prescribed parameters. Researchers have discussed the maintenance of traditional gender roles on The Police Women of Broward County (2009Cox, 2012), post-feminism's emphasis on MTV's Jersey Shore Patrick, 2017), the construction and commodification of queer subjectivities on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy -2007Stempel, 2010), and the perpetuation of masculine and feminine stereotypes on The Bachelor (2002-present) and Joe Millionaire (2003;Gray, 2009).…”