The internet is full of the popular “Karen” meme. It depicts a middle aged white woman asking to speak with the manager, wearing an asymmetrical bob haircut and seemingly entitled yet ignorant at once.
The Karen meme originally served as a parody of entitled white women. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent racial protests in 2020, its meaning shifted significantly; from being an insult against privileged white women to one demeaning social distancing in the workplace.
Content Analysis
Memes can spread like wildfire, especially if they’re popular and shareable. Unfortunately, memes may also cause controversy by instilling fear and anxiety or spreading misinformation.
The Karen Meme has caused much controversy due to its inherent sexism and racism. It has been critiqued and discussed by both feminists and non-feminists alike, with mixed results.
A sexist interpretation of the Karen Meme is that it implies middle-class white women have earned their privilege and entitlement in the workplace. This assertion has been debunked by numerous researchers.
Though jokes like these may be intended to be funny, they also serve as a means of criticizing women who may have experienced discrimination at work or filed a discrimination claim. If these remarks are seen as an attempt to “get under the skin” of someone, it can have harmful repercussions.
Another criticism of the Karen Meme is its tendency to discredit women who have engaged in racist or antisocial behaviors. Specifically, it has been used to vilify white women who call the police on black people or initiate racist incidents.
These women are frequently the target of defamation, harassment and doxing by those associated with the Karen Meme. Those targeted may lose their jobs or be socially excluded by their communities as a result.
Some researchers believe this trend will only accelerate, potentially creating even more harmful situations. Utilizing the Karen Meme to slander or dox someone can have detrimental effects on their health and safety by creating the impression they pose a danger to society.
The Karen Meme has become widely used to denote individuals who engage in racist, anti-social, and aggressive behaviors when out in public. These incidents are usually recorded and shared on social media sites, sparking widespread outrage.
These videos are then analyzed and interpreted in various ways, often compressing a woman’s entire life into one moment. Millions of people share these videos online, leaving these individuals vulnerable to doxxing attacks.
Symbolism
In recent years, the Karen meme has become a ubiquitous character in viral videos. These clips typically target women who act entitled in public – usually middle-aged white women.
As the Karen phenomenon gained momentum, many began to recognize its sexist undertones – not only directed at entitled women. This led feminists to argue that labeling someone a “Karen” is an inaccurate representation of a woman’s identity.
Despite this criticism, the Karen Meme is becoming an essential component of online discussions around racism in 2020. It serves as a reminder to be more cognizant of those around you and how they might be perceived.
It can also serve to emphasize the complexities of women’s experiences, which can be both derogatory and humorous at the same time.
Karen memes first emerged online in 2017, according to Know Your Meme, on a subreddit called r/F—YouKaren. The site’s description read: “Dedicated to hatred of ‘Karen’ and her family.” It is believed that r/F—YouKaren was started by an individual enraged by his ex-wife Kate Gosselin.
In 2018, another version of the Karen meme emerged. This time, Karen (the character in the popular TV show) was depicted as a social policer sexist. This included comments regarding her anti-science views, classism and anti-vaccine beliefs.
During the pandemic of coronavirus, people often shared anti-mask videos on social media. This led to an increasingly social distancing version of the Karen, with people criticizing their neighbors for not taking the flu seriously enough.
Karens-themed memes often elicit strong emotions; more than one in five users who have seen one report feeling amused or sad.
Though not an exact representation of a middle-aged white woman, her appearance plays into stereotypes that women are loud and abrasive in public. Therefore, sexist criticism can easily be leveled against the ur-Karen even when not directly tied to any racist incident.
Themes
Over the past couple of years, Karen has become a widely used slang term among white women on the internet. Initially, it was used to denote middle-aged white women who were perceived as acting entitled in public.
Eventually, the term gained notoriety and people began using it for all sorts of derogatory and offensive things online. It quickly became associated with sexism and misogyny as well.
Karen has become a derogatory term for middle-aged white women, according to Karen Schimkowitz – senior editor at Know Your Meme, an online meme encyclopedia. “Karen” has become something of a joke among some in the community,” Schimkowitz explained to Insider.
Schimkowitz noted that it’s also become a common label for white women who commit racist acts in public spaces, such as calling the police on Black people out of self-interest, similar to the “OK Boomer” nickname.
Karen slang term “Super Karen” describes a white woman who displays extreme irrationality, such as racism, animal cruelty and panic. The phrase was first coined by someone who captured video footage of an impatient restaurant patron behaving like an irrational racist when her food took too long to arrive and called the police on her.
Karen slang terms vary, but they all point to a common issue: sexism and classism. While Karen may reflect white women’s privilege, it does not shield her from all forms of sexism and classism that exist in today’s world.
Beek and Bell don’t search the streets for misbehaving Karens; rather, they scour the internet and other social media platforms for content that resembles the sexism and classism of the original Karen meme.
They share these images on their Instagram page, now known as “Karens Going Wild.” The page showcases photos and videos of misbehaving Karens filmed throughout the United States as well as abroad. Although the couple has stated they aren’t responsible for what appears there, their followers have been flocking to them in response to these viral pictures.
Conclusions
The Karen meme has become a landmark moment for white women online, inspiring conversations about white womanhood, entitlement, and accountability.
Karen memes have become a worldwide phenomenon, though its exact origins remain obscure. Some experts speculate that it began on Reddit when someone created the r/FuckYouKaren subreddit in 2017.
Though its roots may be obscure, the Karen stereotype conveys an important message. It suggests presumptuous white women who lack empathy towards their victims and will go to any lengths to achieve their objectives.
Karen can be likened to Lady Catherine from Jane Austen’s novels. Like that character, Karen is an arrogant white woman who makes racist 911 calls and embellishes online reviews with false information.
Yet, in the end, she too succumbs to fate – though in a more dramatic fashion than Austen’s stories do.
Karen stands out from Lady Catherine because she has the support of her family and friends, despite her misogynist tendencies. Despite this, Karen still maintains a social circle.
However, her behavior is clearly problematic and has earned her the label of a “white supremacist.”
A white supremacist is someone who advocates the equality of white people to all other humans. While this view is widely held, it does not always translate into someone being labeled a “white person.”
What if this phrase were applied to all middle-aged white women? Would that alter people’s perception of “Karen” or create an entirely new stereotype?
Some experts argue that the term may be considered sexism. On the other hand, some feminists maintain it is simply an umbrella term for white women who act in an inequitable and entitled manner.
This issue has been compounded by the sexism associated with social media platforms. As such, many karen memes have been posted online, particularly on TikTok.
These “Karens” are taking advantage of social media platforms to post videos depicting themselves engaging in behaviors associated with the “Karen” meme. These videos have been shared across numerous platforms and viewed millions of times.
