jersey all the way

I work in Philadelphia, but I live in South Jersey. Although my commute is less than 20 minutes and Philly is only separated from Jersey by a river and a few bridges, the popular opinion of many Philadelphians is that Jersey is a whole other world… especially when it comes to its women… often not so affectionately referred to as Jersey Girls.

Earlier this week I was a few minutes late for a meeting and walked into a conversation between three slightly younger female co-workers. One, a recent transplant from Florida, was describing a woman she had seen somewhere the previous weekend. Her description included too much makeup, too little clothes, excessive amounts of jewelry and ridiculous hair. She finished by labeling the woman as “sparkly”. One of the other females in the room responded, “oh my god… so Jersey.” The conversation then continued on to all of the wonderful stereotypes about women from New Jersey, only heighted in recent months by The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Miss Florida proceeded to ask, “Why are all of the women in the state so excessive and cheesy?” Ok, wait a minute… this is where I jumped in.

I am Jersey all the way. Born and raised off exit 8 of the NJTP (those from here know that a turnpike or parkway exit can clearly describe where you live). Aside from short stints in upstate NY for college, England and Spain after college, California, and Philly for a bit, New Jersey has been home. I now live a bit further south from where I grew up, but still in the great Garden State. I don’t have big hair (haven’t since Jr High), wear excessive makeup (I barely have time for any makeup since my little guy came along), I dress fairly conservative and I have never had any designs painted on my nails. The same can be said for all of my girlfriends as well. In fact, the same can be said for pretty much all (ok, most) of the women I know. You will from time to time come across the stereotypical Jersey Girl in this great state of ours, but honestly people, that is not the norm.

Beyond just the Jersey Girl stereotype, NJ is often the brunt of many jokes. The “armpit of America” nickname is one we can never seem to shake. During the above referenced work conversation, one female, a current resident of Philly whose parents live in Virginia, mentioned that her parents often ask her, “Why on earth would you ever go to the Jersey shore? Isn’t it dirty?” and “Is there any way to avoid the state altogether when driving from Virginia to Boston?” Wow people. Trust me… the state is not that bad. Granted we do not have the splendor of California or the natural beauty of Colorado for example, but this state does have quite a bit to offer. We are smack in between two great cities, New York and Philadelphia. We have many wonderful small all-American towns and our shoreline is filled with great beach towns that come alive in the summer and offer quiet retreats in the off-season months. All in all, New Jersey is a pretty great place. I am proud to call it home and I wear the Jersey Girl label with pride.