Dear Bonnie,

Q: What is a JAP (Jewish American Princess)? Where did the term come from?

A: The term is not at all a flattering one. Born in the wake of the Jewish flight to suburbia after WWII and the nouveau riche lifestyle adopted by some up and comers, the children of these Jewish suburbanites who had made it out of the ghettoes of the cities were often indulged beyond belief, even called princess, a la father knows best. These children of the fities and onward were brilliantly and caustically described by Phillip Roth in Goodbye Columbus. The name JAP meaning Jewish American Princess caught on soon after. The rest is unfortunate history.

Truth be told, the indulgence of children and the spoiling of them is not new and is not confined to Jews. It is a parent problem that even the book of Proverbs in the Bible comments on, and even the book of Samuel and Kings has a word or two about.

Today, the JAP syndrome is a discredited myth and its adherents are just repeating noxious anti-female and anti-Jewish ( even self-hating , if they are themselves Jewish) stereotypes. Shame on them.

Rabbi Richard Polirer

http://www.jewish.com/askarabbi/askarabbi/askr4448.htm