S is for Snooki

      As the popularity of the MTV Reality Show "Jersey Shore" grows, many of us are wondering what the big deal is. Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi is plastered all over pop culture and entertainment news and she is constantly in the spotlight.
     Snooki's popularity isn't only national but local as well. During Fall Term OSU students participated in a Comcast University contest that would bring the "Jersey Shore" cast here to Corvallis to party at local dive bar, the Peacock.
     OSU had the most amount of students participate in this contest and therefore "Jersey Shore" cast members made a trip to Corvallis. Facebook was a buzz with gossip and "Jersey Shore" scandal.
     I expected to find that people, like myself, would be disgusted that OSU's claim to fame was now that we could bring "Jersey Shore" to our town. However, I was surprised when Facebook status' popped up all over my news feed, claiming: "I can't wait to meet Snooki!", "Gonna Party with Snooki tonight", etc.
    Why is our society obsessed with Snooki?
    In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, who put the "lovable" "Jersey Shore" girl on their cover, Snooki claims her popularity came about because "I say what's on my mind and I'm real. And I'm tan."
    Snooki's statement may seem absolutely ridiculous (really? We like her because she's tan?) but let's look at the evidence. She is featured on the March Issue of Rolling Stone Magazine. A quick Google search brings up thousands and thousands of features on Snooki.
    People follow her every move whether she is fighting with some one, sleeping with someone or losing weight for the summer. 
    Snooki, though her media coverage started out as a joke, has morphed into a role model for women. She is no longer receiving cynical media coverage (though a lot of her media coverage still has hints at this sarcasm). She is landing roles in magazines like Rolling Stone, a rather prestigious magazine with a reputation for solid reporting.
    This is dangerous. Snooki is an overly sexualized, objectified and ridiculed woman. She is concerned with her looks and her body image. She has contributed little to society and still has been put on a pedestal. She is a role model for woman, she is a message that women get attention when they act bad, ridiculous or outlandish.
    Where are our women scientists? Our potential Nobel Peace Prize Laureates? Why are the women who are getting attention in the media women who are doing nothing positive for our society? We've seen this again and again with Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, Britney Spears, and now Snooki.

  Let's give our youth something else to aspire to.