Help! I Don’t Want My Daughter To Be a ‘Coastie’

Dear Bintel Brief:
My 18-year-old daughter is applying to the University of Wisconsin, Madison. We are Jewish and I understand that approximately 14% of the university’s roughly 30,000 undergraduate students are Jewish.
Our daughter is not a Jewish American Princess. However, she does don some of the stereotypical trappings: Ugg boots and North Face outerwear.
I read on the Internet that the University of Wisconsin students are using a new slang word, “Coastie” It represents a wealthy, Jewish out-of-state student who wears East Coast fashion. I dislike thi social label. There’s nothing funny about these putdowns of Jewish women.
Should I suggest that my daughter apply elsewhere? My choice: Brandeis.
WORRIED JEWISH MOTHER
Dear Mom:
The University of Wisconsin is 14% Jewish?! Seriously? You do realize, of course, that that number is seven times higher than the national average, meaning that if your daughter is lucky enough to gain acceptance and go to Madison, she’s practically making aliya.
But we want to address your concern about the “coastie” question and whether this is implied antisemitism in a scholarly way, so we watched the video on YouTube and read the Wikipedia entry to get into a rabbinical frame of mind. According to the Wiki, here’s the “official” definition of “coastie/coasties”: “The term… [is] used in Midwestern U.S. universities to denote students who come from outside of the region, mainly from the East or West coast.”
Okay, so far so good, just sounds like regional pride to us. (Though why anyone would be proud of being an “in-statey,” we’re not sure…) But in the song and video, “What’s a Coastie?”, the association to Jewish women is made more apparent, particularly in the lyrics, “What’s a coastie? Black tights all day. What’s a coastie? Starbucks, big shades. What’s a coastie? Always blowing Daddy’s money. What’s a coastie? My East Coast Jewish honey.”
We have to admit… it made us laugh, particularly when, in an attempt to illustrate the point, the video flashed a picture of a pretty-looking Britney Spears wearing big sunglasses and carrying a grande frappuccino, making us think the musicians didn’t quite get all nuances down. The song goes on to describe the look of a particular type of fashion victim: a young lady in Ugg Boots, a V-Neck T-shirt and North Face apparel, carrying a big purse and holding a BlackBerry to her ear.
You’ve seen this girl. We all have. Whether or not she’s a “princess,” she is, at the very least, a walking cliché. And pointing out ridiculous behaviors, mannerisms and fashion is what satire’s all about. (See: Seinfeld, Jerry; Roth, Philip; Allen, Woody; Brooks, Mel; Ceasar, Sid, etc., etc., etc.) Recall the lyrics of Adam Sandler’s Hanukkah song: “So many Jews are in show biz — Tom Cruise isn’t, but I heard his agent is.” Ultimately we believe the “Coastie” song is similarly innocuous parody, and sings the praises of these hot “exotic” women, something we think Jewish men should do more of on a regular basis as well.
So should your daughter apply elsewhere? If she wants to, then yes, absolutely. But should she apply to Brandeis because it’ll make you feel more comfortable? We’re not going to answer that because it would be too tempting to make a joke about Jewish mothers…
Amy Feldman and Robin Epstein are the authors of the new book “So Sue Me Jackass! Avoiding Legal Pitfalls That Can Come Back to Bite You at Work, at Home, and at Play” (Plume).
If you have a question for the Bintel Brief, e-mail [email protected]. Questions selected for publication will be printed anonymously. New installments of the Bintel Brief are published Mondays at www.forward.com.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture In Germany, a Jewish family is reunited with a treasured family object — but also a sense of exile
-
Opinion Trump’s heedless approach to an Iran deal could be a big problem for Israel
-
Fast Forward In NYC, Itamar Ben-Gvir says he’s changed — and wants ‘the Trump plan’ in Gaza
-
Opinion Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to a Jewish society at Yale exposed deep rifts between US Jews
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
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 comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag 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.