We have watched senior citizens, or apparently celebrities, shake like there’s no tomorrow on the dance floor. We have seen D-listers get groped by a tunnel full of tarantulas in the jungle in exchange for just a little fame. And we have witnessed kitchens, design rooms, stages and runways be turned into combat zones. As reality TV has changed over the years, trends have come and gone. But, recently, a new unexpected fad has emerged and is taking the reality TV industry by storm: New Jersey.

The Jersey show that jump-started the fad was Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” (RHNJ), which follows the glamorous lives of five women residing in The Garden State. With characters like Teresa Guidice, best known for her lavish spending and table-flipping freak-out, or ex-convict Danielle Staub, who claims the other housewives are out to get her, I was hooked the minute the show premiered. With each woman ready to fight and known for her signature move, the show is practically like professional wrestling for women. After RHNJ’s first season brought in an average of 2.55 million viewers, other TV executives tapped in to the fist pumping, fake-tanning and Italian-loving stereotypes of New Jersey.

We were then granted Jersey shows like “Cake Boss,” “Jerseylicious,” “My Big Friggen’ Wedding,” “Jersey Couture” and of course the infamous “Jersey Shore.” As entertaining, and pathetic, as it can be to watch hours of larger-than-life, New Jersey families on all of these shows, MTV’s “Jersey Shore” has certainly left the biggest impression in American TV and culture.

The premise of the show is eight guidos and guidettes, the stereotypical Italian type, in a house in Seaside Heights for the summer. They spend their days working at local stores, going to the gym, tanning, and doing laundry, now known as GTL. When night comes they own the clubs where they try to “fight the music” all night long with their fist pumping and over-the-top personalities. The boys try to find girls who are “DTF” – down to, well, you can figure it out – and the ladies of the household look for “juiceheads.” There is no denying that the people on the show are trashy. The guys use more hair product than I do and the girls do not know what long sleeve shirts are. However, these people and their behaviors never cease to entertain me.

Unfortunately, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie does not share the same admiration as I do for the fist-pumping crew. In an interview with ABC this past July, Christie expressed that he feels that the show has had a negative impact on the state.

It is understandable that the governor of New Jersey would be disgusted by these shows, but comedian Chelsea Handler is as equally ashamed being from the state. “New Jersey, would you please stop embarrassing me, okay? I know you’re New York’s chunkier, sluttier younger sister, but pull yourself together, girl,” said Handler on her TV show “Chelsea Lately.”

When I found out that Handler was angry over these shows, I was in disbelief.  New Jersey is known for being the “Arm Pit” of America and now it is the head of the reality TV world. New Jersey is cool now and Jerseyans needs to embrace it. Shows like RHNJ and Jersey Shore are helping the state gain social status. They are helping Jersey create a culture; we want to be Jersey. We now poof our hair and go as Jersey Shore cast members for Halloween. Fist pumping in clubs is expected now and GTL is now part of our daily routines. Our vocabulary has been embedded with words and phrases like “grenade,” “oh yeah,” “its T-shirt time,” “juiceheads,” “that’s a situation,” and so much more.

New Jersey you have created a phenomenon, and should be proud. Now go celebrate over some spaghetti and meatballs and fist-pump the night away.

WANT MORE? CLICK HERE TO READ THE TOP 10 NEW JERSEY REALITY TV SHOW QUOTES.

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