The use of words like ‘Guidos’ and ‘Guidettes’ is racial stereotyping in the worst possible sense and they are portraying young Italian Americans in the worst possible light." -UNICO President Andre Dimino
I know that many people have had this same problem. I've known that term to be derogatory for awhile and was surprised to see it on the show. The whole show itself is based around the idea of the "guido" - A tan, buff, Italian male, and the female companion "guidette". The show depicts them going out and partying almost all the time, starting problems with one another, and showing a generally poor attitude. Physical contact and verbal disagreements get extra coverage with plenty of footage to give the viewer the best angle of the situation. It's these characteristics that attract viewers to the show every week - the mystery of what the show has to offer each week.
I can't blame UNICO for being upset. MTV should have realized the repercussions from their actions. There was a scandal with one of the girls on the show, Snooki, about midway through the season. She was punched in the face by a drunk guy at the bar, and MTV decided to air the footage in teasers for the new episode. They were soon scrutinized for showing violence against women, and instead of showing the footage on the next week's show, only the audio was played over black. A disclaimer was offered to fight violence against women at the end of the episode. The footage was very graphic and caused a lot of emotional trauma for Snooki.
MTV has promoted the derogatory use of the term "guido", and now they have to pay the penalty. They need to learn that scandal, while it can make for interesting TV and can attract viewers, can have repercussions as well.
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