Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Letters

Reports of Stereotype’s Death Are Premature

Contrary to what Lenore Skenazy wrote in her March 4 column “Were JAP Jokes a Justification for Intermarriage?” the JAP stereotype is hardly a thing of the past.

In fact, JAP jokes are alive and well among today’s young people. Look no further than “University of Michigan Pursuit of Jappiness,” a parody video of Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness” that Jewish Michigan students posted on YouTube in February. The video has drawn nearly 300,000 hits less than a month after its launch.

When I was in college less than two years ago, people regularly referred to Jewish sorority girls as JAPs. Maybe Skenazy’s kids haven’t heard the stereotype because they’re too young. I learned about the stereotype in eighth grade at a Jewish day school, and have been hearing the term ever since.

I should note, though, that in my generation both men and women are liable to be called JAPs, with Jewish men sometimes referred to as “Jewish American Princes.” At least we’re somewhat egalitarian about it.

Ben Sales
New York, N.Y.

The writer is editor of the national Jewish student magazine New Voices.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.