Situationalism

Ok, have you heard all the hoopla around MTVs Jersey Shore, the show about obnoxious 20-somethings who spend their summers cavorting around "the shore" as its called (apparently nobody calls it the beach over there)? It has come under fire from Italian-American groups who find that it reinforces Italian stereotypes. Truly, this isn't about any group of people who party at the shore, it's specifically about supremely obnoxious Italian-American kids. People all over the east coast go to the shore during the summer, but MTV chose a select group and thus the show that is pissing off tons of people.

Apparently, the term MTV uses to describe the kids/market the show, "guidos" (and for the ladies, the even more awesome "guidettes") is being talked about as "no longer offensive" because A) it has fallen out of favor over the years as the go-to epithet and thus is so antiquated that it no longer holds power, and/or B) they use it to describe themselves.

Um, I think I can sum up a response to that, "I don't think so." Maybe also "Nice try!" Is there a a statute of limitations on racist terminology? Because I hadn't heard that. It's offensive! The show is offensive, and its sadness is palpable even in the commercials. But that's not why I'm here. I'm here because one of the guys refers to himself and, alternatively, his muscley abs as "The Situation."

Mike "The Situation"

As you can see, he is pointing to his "situation." He asks girls on the street "Do you love the situation?" as he pulls up his shirt to reveal his ripply muscles. Women who know of him from club land wear t-shirts like this one: Which is one of those moments for me when my own private vocabulary encounters the real world and the combination is hysterically funny. You see, dear readers, to me "the situation" and "my situation" are terms I use to talk about my period. Sometimes, if there's a period-related emergency and I have to explain why I've been in the restroom running the water forever, I say "It was my situation" or "I had to take care of my situation." Needless to say, I do not love the situation! But I do love that every time he is mentioned, I think of buying tampons, you know, so I don't have a situation.

Have you had any funny crossover experiences with words/phrases that are part of your own personal vocabulary?

Margaret Cho: If Men had a period: