Times when Entitled Karens Looked Stupid
If you’ve ever spent any time online, then you may have run across a group of people known as ‘Karens.’ These women are notorious for their over the top social media posts and bizarre behavior – such as shouting at people in public for wearing masks and claiming to be an expert on everything from dog grooming to finding the best wine for a date night.
Recently, an Instagram account known as ‘Karens going wild’ has been compiling videos of over-the-top behavior. They showcase some of the most stunning and opulent (or otherwise frightening) examples you’ll ever see.
Let’s face it: acting like an entitled brat won’t likely get you very far in life. In other words, acting like this will lead to many bad relationships and a life full of regret.
The name ‘Karens’ may be an amusing phrase, but it also serves to describe a certain type of woman who seems to enjoy life most when given the chance.
Times when Entitled Karens Looked Wrong
The term “Karen” has become an online slur for middle-aged white women who are seen as entitled. It’s used to denote those who demand to speak to the manager, are against vaccination, and engage in racist microaggressions.
According to Know Your Meme, the term originated in African-American communities and was used to highlight how powerful women use their power for oppression of others. But according to activist Alicia Sanchez Gill, it has now come to encompass a wide range of women – those who don’t wear masks to those spreading misinformation online about coronavirus outbreaks.
Karens have been linked to several videos, including one that showed a white woman threatening to call the police on an African American man birdwatching in Central Park. Another clip showed a woman throwing a tantrum when asked to wear a face mask at Costco.
Many of these videos were shared on social media by those who expressed disgust at the behavior of the alleged Karens, not out of concern for them. Indeed, some have argued that labelling them Karens makes it harder for them to speak out against what is being accused of, according to CNN’s David Dennis Jr.
In the past, students and parents have avoided reaching out to me with their worries because they feared being labeled a Karen. Unfortunately, this poses challenges for both educators and students alike – especially as schools become more overwhelmed with administrative demands as student enrollment levels increase.
Education administrators face a similar challenge, wanting to hear from parents and students about their academic progress as well as any legitimate concerns they may have. Unfortunately, administrators often believe Karen parents’ reports about their child’s performance without question, fearing that challenging the parent could cost them their job.
Karens can be annoying, but they also dangerous. In the case of “Costco Karen”, who threatened to call police on someone birdwatching in a public space, these individuals use their privilege to benefit from racism and discriminatory systems – something other members of society need to be wary of.
Times when Entitled Karens Looked Horrible
At first, the “Karen” meme was a playful dig at an overinflated sense of entitlement. But by the time Covid-19 spread across America, it had evolved into an unmistakably racially-charged shorthand for social policing; suddenly calling someone a Karen had become less of a joke and more an indictment of white women who call the cops on their neighbors.
The Karen stereotype is often associated with entitled white women who demand special privileges or services beyond what normalcy provides. This behavior could include demanding to speak to a manager or calling the police on someone they perceive as lower-status. It has also been used as a tactic to harass service industry workers, be racist, and refuse to wear face coverings in stores.
One particularly disturbing aspect of the Karen stereotype is its association with lawnmower parenting (sometimes referred to as snowplow parenting). Many Karens knowingly and aggressively remove any obstacles or hardships which they believe could negatively impact their children’s success, educational prospects or self-esteem.
Lillian Glass, a communications and body language expert, warns against this kind of “entitled parenting,” which can be both dangerous and disempowering for teachers. Karens who feel they have the authority to get what they want create an atmosphere of uncertainty for educators when told that they must do more than their job requires.
These events, which have garnered tens of millions of views online, have a detrimental effect on schools and teachers who strive to help students and their parents. When teachers go above and beyond to assist students or their parents, they often receive negative feedback or are called in for “discipline” after having done what was expected of them.
Kaden recounts many “Karen” incidents which are accompanied by racist micro-aggressions, like asking to touch black people’s hair. She notes how this has a detrimental effect on the school environment and can lead to teacher burnout.
Karens are increasingly finding ways to cope with the internet’s abuses. Some are becoming activists and using the “Karen” meme as a platform to draw attention to the issue and take action.
Times when Entitled Karens Looked Misogynistic
The Karen meme has become a common representation of an entitled white woman with a blonde bob haircut. These individuals usually sport an attitude and tend to complain or demand things from others; they’re the type who will post on Nextdoor about suspicious-looking guys walking around their neighborhood or ask to enter stores without wearing masks.
The term Karen first gained notoriety as a light-hearted joke, but with the growth of #BlackLivesMatter protests it has taken on an increasingly serious significance. These iterations of the Karen meme are not simply misogynist stereotypes but are deeply linked to racial and class discourse as well.
White women who have experienced discrimination often take out their anger and frustration on those below them, rather than cultivating empathy for the women and people she has treated in the past. Unfortunately, this shortsighted selfishness can have serious negative consequences for both white women and people of color.
Recent Karens have often been White women, though some Black women have also been labeled as Karens. Cases include white women pulling guns on Black people in Michigan and St. Louis as well as defacing a Black Lives Matter street symbol in California.
These incidents all demonstrate how a middle-aged, white woman who uses her privilege to control others’ behaviors not only engages in misogynist behavior, but it also exhibits racism at its most subliminal. This form of racism has been around for centuries, with some White women suffering more than others from its effects.
The current iterations of the Karen meme represent an evolution in racism, and they appear set to remain misogynistic for some time to come. While its initial iterations were meant as lighthearted funnier mockeries of white women’s struggles, with time these violent manifestations have become more frequent. These reminders serve as a stark reminder that while our country has made significant strides in combatting racism, we remain far from where it needs to be.
