Why is the word guido offensive

Its president, Andrew DiMino, said: "It's a term used to insult us, implying we are all uneducated people without social graces.

Seaside Heights council is regretting its decision to host the show, putting out a statement last week clarifying that it does not condone it. An official, John Camera, said: "We're getting a lot of calls from residents and property owners saying that they're offended and they don't know why the town did it.

DiMino accepted that the "G-word" is used by some Italian-Americans — not least the eight cast members of Jersey Shore — as a self-description, but he said that didn't make such "self-loathing" right and likened it to black Americans calling themselves by the N-word.

MTV has been showered with complaints. The New York Post's Linda Stasi waded in with a fiery column in which she accused MTV of stereotyping her ethnic group as "gel-haired, thuggish ignoramuses with fake tans, no manners, no diction, no taste, no education, no sexual discretion, no hairdressers for sure , no real knowledge of Italian culture and no ambition".

MTV responded with a statement insisting that the show depicts just one slice of youth culture. The frustration for protesters is that controversy is life blood to any reality show.

Jersey Shore's ratings doubled to 2. In one respect, though, MTV may be vulnerable. Advertisers are becoming nervous about appearing during the broadcast. But for Italian-American groups and New Jersey tourism officials, the show is awash with inaccuracies, many of which they fear give the Italian community and the vacation destination a bad rap.

In particular, the willingness of the eight somethings sharing a Jersey Shore summer house to classify themselves as "guidos" has drawn the ire of groups that consider the term offensive. After just two episodes, the show, which airs Thursday nights at 10 p. And later in the show's season, the Shore will get violent when one of the roommates, Nicole Polizzi, gets punched in the face at a local bar.

Within the first five minutes of the show's premiere episode, a year-old male who goes by the name "Mike 'The Situation'" because of his chiseled abdominal muscles -- "My abs are so ripped up we call it 'the situation,'" he says -- tells the camera that the Jersey Shore is where "you have to be" because it's the place "where the shirts come off and the bikinis come out.

Mike proudly says he's a "guido" -- the type of guy every girl wants because he is typically "a good looking, smooth, well-dressed Italian. In a statement provided to ABCNews. Our intention was never to stereotype, discriminate, or offend. Polizzi spoke to ABCNews. She says she'd like her own MTV spinoff show that focuses on her search for love.

In 10 years, Polizzi says she'd like to have the partying "out of her system and hopefully be settled down with a nice job and income and a beautiful Italian husband and beautiful Italian babies. Polizzi herself has been the target of online critics, including a Facebook group dedicated to her called "Fans of Punching The Jersey Shore's Snooki in the Face. Nicole Polizzi, Jersey Shore.

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