''Guido'' (, ) is a North American

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...

and

ethnic slur The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or oth ...

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gro ...

term, often derogatory, for a

working-class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

. The guido stereotype is multi-faceted. Originally, the term was used as a demeaning term for Italian-Americans in general. More recently, it has come to refer to working-class urban Italian-Americans who conduct themselves in an overtly

macho Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...

manner or belong to a particular working-class Italian-American subculture. The time period in which it obtained the later meaning is not clear, but some sources date it to the 1970s or 1980s. The term is not used in Italy.

Etymology

The word "guido" is derived from the Italian given name "

Guido Guido is a given name Latinised from the Old High German name Wido. It originated in Medieval Italy. Guido later became a male first name in Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Switzerland. The mea ...

", originally the Italian version of the French given name Guy. Fishermen of Italian descent were often called "Guidos" in medieval times.

Contentious use

The term is used in states and metropolitan areas associated with large Italian-American populations, such as

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, Buffalo,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, and

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

. In other areas, terms such as "Cugine" (

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

), "Mario" (

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

) and "Gino" (

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

) have a meaning similar to guido. Although some Italians self-identify as "guidos", the term is often considered derogatory or an

.("he referred to as 'guidos', employing a term widely considered an ethnic slur...")

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

caused controversy in 2009 when they used the term in promotions for the

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

show ''

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...

''. This spurred objections from Italian-American organizations such as

Unico National UNICO National is a service organization of Italian Americans established in Waterbury, Connecticut in 1922 to "engage in charitable works, support higher education, and perform patriotic deeds". According to its website, it is the "largest Itali ...

, NIAF, the

Order Sons of Italy in America The Order Sons of Italy in America ( it, Ordine Figli d’Italia in America, OSIA) is the largest and the oldest Italian American Benefit society, fraternal organization in the United States. A similar organization exists in Canada. It has more ...

, and the Internet watchdog organization ItalianAware. Although MTV removed the term from some promotions, it remains closely associated with the show, and some of the cast members use it regularly to describe themselves while the females sometimes refer to themselves as a "guidette." According to author and professor Pellegrino D'Acierno, "guido" is a derogatory term for stereotypical working class or lower class Italian-American males, "a pejorative term applied to lower-class, talian-American macho, gold-

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects ...

-wearing, self-displaying neighborhood boys ..

ith a The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

penchant for cruising in hot cars ..''Guidette'' is their gum-chewing, big-haired, air-headed female counterpart." In regards to the "guido" stereotype and the depiction of working class Italian-American communities in American film, Peter Bondanella contends that: "Although some films view the working class as a potentially noble and dignified group, others see the working-class Italian American as a Guido or Guidette - part of a tasteless, uneducated ��group of characters with vulgar gold chains, big hair, and abrasive manners."

Style

Clothing often associated with the "Guido" stereotype includes gold chains (often herringbone chains,

figaro chain The figaro chain is a jewellery chain design consisting of two or three small circular links followed by one elongated oval link. The most notable figaro chains are manufactured in Italy. They are usually worn by men and are often adorned with pe ...

cornicello A cornicello (), cornetto (; ), corno (Italian for "horn"), or corno portafortuna (literally "horn that brings luck" in Italian) is an Italian amulet or talisman worn to protect against the evil eye (or ''malocchio'' in Italian) and bad luck in ...

s, or saints' medallions),

pinky ring A pinky ring is any ring worn on the pinky, or little finger, of either hand. A pinky ring may have special significance conferred by the wearer's office or professional association, but may also may be worn purely for fashion. Signet rings, ...

s, oversized gold or silver

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

es,

rosaries The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

worn as necklaces, working class clothing such as plain white T-shirts,

muscle shirt A sleeveless shirt is a shirt that is manufactured without sleeves or whose sleeves have been cut off. Depending on the style, they can be worn as undershirts, by sportsperson, athletes in sports such as track and field and triathlon, or as casu ...

s or "

guinea T A sleeveless shirt is a shirt that is manufactured without sleeves or whose sleeves have been cut off. Depending on the style, they can be worn as undershirts, by athletes in sports such as track and field and triathlon, or as casual wear by bot ...

s",

leather jacket A leather jacket is a jacket-length coat that is usually worn on top of other apparel or item of clothing, and made from the tanned hide of various animals. The leather material is typically dyed black, or various shades of brown, but a wide ra ...

s, sweat or

tracksuit A tracksuit is an article of clothing consisting of two parts: trousers and a jacket usually with front zipper. It was originally intended for use in sports, mainly for athletes to wear over competition clothing (such as running shirt and shorts ...

coppola cap The coppola () is a traditional kind of flat cap typically worn in Sicily and Calabria, where is it known as ''còppula'' or ''berretto'', and also seen in Malta, Corsica, and Sardinia (where it came to be known, in the local language, as , , and ...

s or scally caps, unbuttoned dress shirts, Italian knit shirts, designer brand T-shirts such as

Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...

, and often typical Southern Italian "tamarro" or "truzzo" club dress. Slicked-back hair and pompadours, blowouts, tapers,

quiff The quiff is a hairstyle that combines the 1950s pompadour hairstyle, the 1950s flattop, and sometimes a mohawk. It was born as a post-war reaction to the short and strict haircuts for men. The hairstyle was a staple in the British 'Teddy Boy' m ...

s, fades and heavily

pomade Pomade (; French ''pommade'') or pomatum is a greasy, waxy, or water-based substance that is used to style hair. Pomade generally gives the user's hair a shiny and slick appearance. It lasts longer than most hair-care products, and often re ...

d hair are also common stereotypes.

References

{{Jersey Shore Anti-Italian sentiment Class-related slurs Ethnic and racial stereotypes Italian language in the United States Italian-American culture Italian-American history Stereotypes of urban people Stereotypes of white people Pejorative terms for white people Stereotypes of working-class men Subcultures English words

Etymology

Contentious use

Style

See also

References