The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
Wasn't quite sure where to place this one, so the Popular Culture here seemed the closest.
This thread focuses on the phenomena of rude, obnoxious, screechy, middle aged white women, whose sole purpose in life seems to be ever on the lookout for opportunities to make others around them miserable.
They're known as "Karens", and here is the Urban Dictionary definition of a Karen:
Quote:
The stereotypical name associated with rude, obnoxious and insufferable middle aged white women.
Karens take everything wrong with the typical over entitled western woman and crank it up by several thousand percent. They are a mutated subspecies that descends from the Soccer Mom, and have many of their traits. Such as a short temper, a crown bowl haircut, an unnecessarily large SUV to take her kids to soccer practice and be a menace on the road, etc etc. But Karens have developed their own unique characteristics /antics as well. Including but not limited to;
-Reveling in making the life or retail workers a living hell by constantly making a scene over nothing and demanding to "speak to the manager" (a near universal battle cry among Karens).
-Threatening to sue someone for a minor misdemeanor they may or may not have committed and may or may not have even involved Karen at all.
-Treating the drive thru line like the set of a Mad Max film by cutting in line and honking at anyone who tries to get in. Even willing dent other people's cars to save 45 seconds in getting her $1 muffin. (Karens in this situation may or may not ask to speak to the drive thru worker's manager and / or threaten to sue the drivers of the car she just rammed.)
-Being a part of the anti-vax crowd and relying on Essential Oils for the health of their children because of a Facebook post she saw.
-Reading erotica that makes 50 shades of grey look like Hamlet by comparison in public.
And Many Others.
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Karen
So now that we have her defined, let's have a look at some real life demonstrations. This guy is friggin hilarious in his analysis, as he briefly guides us through the varing types, and degrees, of out of control Karens.
Has anyone here had a Karen sighting?
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
Quote:
Posted by
Gracy May
-Being a part of the anti-vax crowd and relying on Essential Oils for the health of their children because of a Facebook post she saw.
-Reading erotica that makes 50 shades of grey look like Hamlet by comparison in public.
And Many Others.
These last two traits are invalid. There is no way to know someone's private behaviour based on the fact they are obnoxious.
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
You don't need to know there private life,this is designed to shut people up for having an opinion.
It's the same as being called a conspiracy theorist
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
Quote:
Posted by
TomKat
Quote:
Posted by
Gracy May
-Being a part of the anti-vax crowd and relying on Essential Oils for the health of their children because of a Facebook post she saw.
-Reading erotica that makes 50 shades of grey look like Hamlet by comparison in public.
And Many Others.
These last two traits are invalid. There is no way to know someone's private behaviour based on the fact they are obnoxious.
I was thinking the same thing ... how did these two traits get associated with "Karens"? I think someone just added those because it happened to be their personal pet peeves but those things have nothing to do with "Karens".
Synchronicity, I was just watching "Best Karen freakout" videos the other day ... some of these are hilarious, but its weirdly entertaining to watch people act like complete idiots. I guess thats why we can't take our focus off of politicians. ;)
Also the male version of a Karen I believe is called a "Darrin" ...
Here's some more good samples :
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
We are seeing ever-creasing extremes these days, almost everywhere we look, in belief structures, social systems, in the weather, and very much in the already fragile emotional complex of human beings. I believe there's something energetic going on – something to do with the shifting vibrations of the planet. Yet, social conditioning is also playing a large role in this.
In a world where logic and rationality are marginalized, only base emotions are left to fill in the gap.
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
I saw that Lori Lightfoot, the Mayor of Chicago, via Twitter, called the White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEneny, whom I think is absolutely brilliant at her job, "Karen".
Mrs McEnany did refer to Mayor Lightfoot as being“the derelict mayor of Chicago”. My guess would be that Lightfoot was quite intentional with her 'mistake' and was, as the kids these days say, "throwing shade".
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
Quote:
Posted by
Gracy May
rude, obnoxious and insufferable middle aged white women
I encountered the term in the propaganda about "who is behind" the antivaxx movement. Karens are rude because they talk to others in public about hot button topics like vaccine injury when the crowd wants to be left in "peace"about unwelcome truth. Karens are obnoxious because they won't stop talking when trolls try to badger them to silence. Karens are middle aged OFTEN because they learned the lessons in their younger years. The maternal Karen loved her children and listened to experts. Following the guidelines led to shock.When their children were injured, they could SEE a correlation between the "medical intervention" and harm.
Then due to the damage, Karens sought help and were told by experts "Sorry. This (injury of various kinds) has NO CURE or even help."
Then Karens met others who had the same issues. They found unlikely (according to experts) assistance "outside the boxes" and started talking to others about their successful interventions... even MORE obnoxious and insufferable.
Are they WHITE? I have no idea about the color range. Maybe the Karens pin pointed by the Trolls are caucasion? However, when any "MATERNAL FEMININE WARRIORESS" challenges the Patriarchy with her knowledge and energy to protect and care for injured humans (not JUST her child), SHE will be bullied by name calling.
That is my exposure to the name calling but it probably is now any female who is selected to be bullied.
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
I don't think this great old lady was ever identified with a name.
But she certainly deserves a category of her own.
And I am not entirely unhappy with the fact that I seem to be slowly evolving into a version of her these days...
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
I've known about Karens for a very long time. It's not really a new thing. I worked for a few. But back then, i just called them c#nts:)
But with so many smart phones out there now, and so much focus on race relations, you'd think they would behave themselves in front of a camera. I can't help but think that some of these Karens are actors of some sort, purposely trying to escalate racial tensions or something.(*Mike adjusts his tin foil hat*)
There is some truth to some stereotypes, and that's what the Karen phenomena demonstrates..."Karen" belng an obviously stereotypical name for middle aged white women, and all the sh!tty behavior being stereotypical middle-aged white women behavior. It's cringey and slightly embarrassing to watch, and it's because it just reinforces something you know to be true but you wish wasn't.
But it works both ways. Here's a little intellectual exercise: imagine for a moment I went out with my cell phone and searched for some black women that epitomised all the negative stereotypes of black women(loud, obnoxious etc), took a bunch of video footage, posted it online, and called them all a bunch of "LaTeeshas". I'd be raked over the coals!:) The same could be done with Hispanic or Asian women.
If i did that, I'd be called racist, bigot, white supremacist, so forth. So theres a real double standard there.
I find the whole Karen thing amusing, despite all that. I do have a sense of humor about it! But at the same time i'm also fully aware that it's open season on whitey and the rules are quite one sided in this instance.
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
imagine, open season on the majority, how crazy is that
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
Lumping the stereotypical Karen in with people who simply question things like vaccines and know theres something to reconnecting with nature that's significant.
These memes and cultural references are just more mind control being churned out by the machine
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
For the sake of fairness, there are ‘male Karens’. One vid added below and there’s more here.
Top 5 Male Karen's Getting ANGRY! #2
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
As far I understand, "Karen" was the term originally coined by Millennials who constantly had to deal with obnoxious customers who were determined to point out where the store/employee/business was wrong and then demanded to be compensated for it, and where these obnoxious customers were largely middle-aged white women. Millennials, whose social circles tend to run on social media and therefore adopt their own terms and way of talking, started using "Karen" to refer to that. (i.e. I had to deal with another "Karen" at the store today.)
Then the big media picked it up, and now it's become an over-used meme. It's like when adults try overly hard to be "cool" with the kids, which I find cringe-worthy. Just let the kids do their thing, and you do you. Our media needs to grow up. :cool2:
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
Quote:
Posted by
DeDukshyn
Synchronicity, I was just watching "Best Karen freakout" videos the other day ... some of these are hilarious, but its weirdly entertaining to watch people act like complete idiots. I guess thats why we can't take our focus off of politicians. ;)
Also the male version of a Karen I believe is called a "Darrin" ...
Here's some more good samples :
Some of them in this vid seem to be acting for “TickTock”.
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
Yes. Karens come in all genders and races and cultures.
I wish that females were not singled out.
Is just more sexism... and also ageism.
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
Quote:
Posted by
Sarah Rainsong
As far I understand, "Karen" was the term originally coined by Millennials who constantly had to deal with obnoxious customers who were determined to point out where the store/employee/business was wrong and then demanded to be compensated for it, and where these obnoxious customers were largely middle-aged white women. Millennials, whose social circles tend to run on social media and therefore adopt their own terms and way of talking, started using "Karen" to refer to that. (i.e. I had to deal with another "Karen" at the store today.)
Then the big media picked it up, and now it's become an over-used meme. It's like when adults try overly hard to be "cool" with the kids, which I find cringe-worthy. Just let the kids do their thing, and you do you. Our media needs to grow up. :cool2:
OMG, adults trying to be "cool" with the kids. UGH! Nothing worse! :) What's kinda interesting is that this is a typical trait of all the Karen's I've known.
re male Karens: Anyone who has worked in customer service knows Paula is right on this one. I've dealt with plenty of male Karens. And most of them, in my experience anyway, were white dudes. Perhaps we should call them "Marks".:wink:
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
I am just glad my first name isn't Karen.
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
I think Karen feels angry and feels disempowered. She has lived in a world where from birth she was told what to do, what to think and what others thought they could do to her body and her children. When she got a little bit older she was triggered by any form of unfairness or injustice. Even what seems trivial to others like taking her parking place, cutting her off in traffic, selling her a crappy products etc. She just loses it. Karen may be feeling she can no long stand to be bullied and mistreated by anyone anymore. This act of defiance, perceived as unjustified aggression may have been a act she later felt confused about, a little guilty but rationalized she was right in order to maintain center. She has not woken up to the real enemy yet. The world is filled with traumatized people and the heart break of it all is they attack them further by labeling them entitled and blame it on the color of their skin. The last a final insult, “middle aged” thus not even worthwhile as sexual object any longer.
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
Contrary to popular belief, a Karen does not have to be white, she just so happens to usually be so.
But you can be an Asian Karen, a black Karen, a Hispanic Karen.
Kind of like the "Ok Boomer" thing, it's moreso a specific attitude/mentality/state of mind, than a very specific racial/age profile.
A Karen is a woman who is entitled beyond belief, demanding, rude, arrogant, stupid, ignorant, belittles others, throws tantrums when she hears "no", errs towards racism/classism/general prejudice, is lazy, and has an over-inflated ego.
Put simply, she's a specific kind of bitch.
Re: The Phenomena Known As "Karens"
Quote:
Posted by
Tam
it's moreso a specific attitude/mentality/state of mind, than a very specific racial/age profile.
A Karen is a woman who is entitled beyond belief, demanding, rude, arrogant, stupid, ignorant, belittles others, throws tantrums when she hears "no", errs towards racism/classism/general prejudice, is lazy, and has an over-inflated ego.
Put simply, she's a specific kind of bitch.
Karen is the one who is to blame.