Karen (slang)

Karen is a pejorative slang term typically used to refer to an upper middle-class white American woman who is perceived as entitled or excessively demanding.^[1] The term is often portrayed in memes depicting middle-class white women who "use their white and class privilege to demand their own way".^[1]^[2] Depictions include demanding to "speak to the manager", being racist, or wearing a particular bob cut hairstyle.^[3] It was popularized in the aftermath of the Central Park birdwatching incident^{[needs context]} in 2020.^[2]

The term has been considered pejorative by those who believe it is racist, sexist, ageist, classist, and controlling women's behavior.^[3] The term has occasionally been applied to male behavior.^[3]^[4]

During 2020, the term increasingly appeared in media and social media, including during the COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd protests.^[1] The Guardian called 2020 "the year of Karen".^[5]

^ ^a ^b ^c Nagesh, Ashitha (July 30, 2020). "What exactly is a 'Karen' and where did the meme come from?". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020. 'Karen' is associated with the kind of person who demands to 'speak to the manager' in order to belittle service industry workers, is anti-vaccination, and carries out racist micro-aggressions, such as asking to touch black people's hair. But a predominant feature of the 'Karen' stereotype is that they weaponise their relative privilege against people of colour - for example, when making police complaints against black people for minor or even - in numerous cases - fictitious infringements.
^ ^a ^b Greenspan, Rachel (October 26, 2020). "How the name 'Karen' became a stand-in for problematic White women and a hugely popular meme". Insider. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c Cite error: The named reference Lewis-2020b was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference ATL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Wong, Julia Carrie (December 27, 2020). "The year of Karen: how a meme changed the way Americans talked about racism". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2020. The image of a white woman calling police on Black people put the lie to the myth of racial innocence

[BBC_Nagesh-1] Nagesh, Ashitha (July 30, 2020). "What exactly is a 'Karen' and where did the meme come from?". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020. 'Karen' is associated with the kind of person who demands to 'speak to the manager' in order to belittle service industry workers, is anti-vaccination, and carries out racist micro-aggressions, such as asking to touch black people's hair. But a predominant feature of the 'Karen' stereotype is that they weaponise their relative privilege against people of colour - for example, when making police complaints against black people for minor or even - in numerous cases - fictitious infringements.

[ins-2] Greenspan, Rachel (October 26, 2020). "How the name 'Karen' became a stand-in for problematic White women and a hugely popular meme". Insider. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2020.

[Lewis-2020b-3] Cite error: The named reference Lewis-2020b was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[ATL-4] Cite error: The named reference ATL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Wong-2020-5] Wong, Julia Carrie (December 27, 2020). "The year of Karen: how a meme changed the way Americans talked about racism". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2020. The image of a white woman calling police on Black people put the lie to the myth of racial innocence

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Karen (slang)

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