Jewish-American princess
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Jewish American Princess or JAP originally refers to Jewish women with privileged backgrounds in the United States and to a lesser extent Canada. It can be taken and meant a pejorative term.
The word characterizes a stereotype about young women who have been spoiled by material wealth and overbearing parenting to the point that they are self-absorbed, pampered, high-maintenance, whiny, materialistic, and snobbish. Since the slur reflects a phenomenon that is not limited to Jewish families, it has also been extended to other ethnic groups. In the American Northeast, it is frequently used as a religiously neutral term to describe any affluent, free-spending suburban woman[citation needed].
As with all stereotypes, this one is often the basis for a variety of jokes and contrived but humorous scenarios. Its factual basis seems to stem from the rapid rise to affluence of Jewish families that started out in tenements of New York City, moved to residential, urban neighborhoods in the city, and then to suburbs on Long Island, Connecticut (Fairfield County), Brandeis University, northern New Jersey, Philadelphia and elsewhere in the United States. The notion is that many who are raised in the affluent environments have lost any sense of continuity with their hardworking parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. To a lesser extent, the term has been co-opted by some Jewish women as a term of affection or identity.
[edit] Characterization in popular culture
- The character of Brenda in the novella Goodbye, Columbus by Philip Roth, and the 1969 film of the same name, starring Ali MacGraw.
- Frank Zappa wrote and performed a song called "Jewish Princess" in his 1979 album Sheik Yerbouti, making fun of the stereotype. Subsequently, 2 Live Jews performed a song called "J.A.P. Rap" in their 1990 album As Kosher As They Wanna Be.
- Judy Benjamin (Goldie Hawn) is a spoiled rich girl who joins the army after her marriage fails, finds herself in a more difficult situation than she ever expected, and ultimately rises to the occasion in the 1980 film Private Benjamin.
- Princess Vespa, the 'Druish Princess', is used to make several references to this stereotype in the 1987 film Spaceballs
- The 1995 movie Clueless, a derivation of Jane Austen's Emma characterizes a self-absorbed, affluent young woman vaguely identified to be of Jewish heritage.
- In the TV Series Friends the character of Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) is television's most famous character to fit the Jewish-American Princess stereotype. From the first episode where she fled her impending nuptials to a dentist named Barry, to her nose job, to her job as a buyer for Bloomingdales to her spoiled, entitled, daddy's-girl personality, Rachel embraced every Jewish Princess stereotype. Interestingly she may not even be Jewish; Ross and Monica are the only characters confirmed to be Jewish.
- In the 2002 movie Igby Goes Down, Igby Slocumb (Kieran Culkin), describes facetiously his friend Sookie Sapperstein (Claire Danes), as a "JAP" in reference to her materialistic upbringing in New York.
- The stage persona of Sarah Silverman is often interpreted as an over-the-top stereotypical Jewish-American Princess.
- Gilda Radner's gum-cracking Rhonda Weiss character who promoted "Jewess" jeans in an advertising parody on Saturday Night Live.
- Jessica Stein the main character in the independent movie Kissing Jessica Stein, is an example of JAP representation in popular culture.
- On the Modern Lovers' live album Precise Modern Lovers Order, Jonathan Richman states that his song "Hospital" is based on what he knew about the Jewish-American Princess stereotype (or in his words, the "Jewish Princess Concept").
- The main character played by Lisa Kudrow in the film Marci X.
