1. The Meme’s Origins
The origins of the Karen Meme are uncertain, though some believe it originated on Reddit. Some speculate that it was inspired by Amanda Seyfried’s Karen in Mean Girls or Dane Cook’s 2005 sketch “The Friend Nobody Likes.”
Only two years ago, the Karen Meme made its debut online and quickly gained notoriety as a popular inside joke. It served as an epithet for any white woman perceived to be inappropriate, rude or entitled in her behavior.
As the Karen Meme continues to spread and gain notoriety online, many are asking some tough questions about its origins. Yahoo Life spoke with several experts to get some answers on what exactly this meme is, how it started and why it has become so popular.
Experts agree that the Karen Meme is an inaccurate term for any middle-aged white woman with a sense of entitlement. It can be applied to older individuals of any gender or race as well.
Many experts told Yahoo Life the Karen Meme was an outgrowth of middle-aged, white women being perceived as entitled by others. In other words, it’s an attempt to teach women less entitlement and greater respect for others.
Another reason the Karen Meme is important is its reminder of the ongoing legacy of slavery and oppression in American culture. While modern racism has become more pervasive than ever before, it’s essential to remember that it wasn’t always this way.
In the 1800s, enslaved black people would refer to white mistresses as ‘Miss Ann.’ This practice served to maintain control over their families while also reminding us of slavery’s legacy and how women have used their status as slaves for control over their homes and families. Though this practice is no longer common today, it serves as a reminder of its legacy and how women have used their status as property to maintain control over their households.
As the Karen Meme grows in popularity, it’s essential to remember that she is not a real person but simply an icon. This makes her an effective tool for reinforcing racism and misogyny as well as delegitimizing women who make noise about issues.
2. The Meme’s Consequences
The shocking videos and incidents surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic quickly gained notoriety, becoming emblematic of all that was wrong with white privilege and entitled behavior. In essence, Karen archetype became a shorthand for all that is wrong with these attitudes.
The Karen meme is a humorous depiction of middle-aged white women typically sporting pixie cuts, needing to “speak to the manager”, and throwing tantrums in public. Unlike other internet memes which focus on one demographic, this one generalizes all white women.
Origins of the “Karen” icon can be traced back to an angry man on a men’s subreddit complaining about an ex-wife named Karen, but its growth into a larger cultural movement has altered its meaning significantly. According to University of Melbourne professor who studies gender and pop culture, the archetype has taken on new nuances – becoming more acute depictions of entitlement and white supremacy.
Karen originally served as a humorous metaphor for entitled white women, but its current iteration has taken on an increasingly aggressive and violent tone as the Black Lives Matter movement gained steam. Since then, Karen has become the villain in numerous stories of police brutality, racism and racial tensions in America.
Sara Williams’ book “Meme Violence” examines the Karen genre as an intersectional phenomenon that blurs the line between Black activism and White clicktivism. Utilizing case studies such as Karen and BBQ Becky archetypes, she examines how these images amplify Black voices and disrupt White supremacist logics, enabling Black communities to police White supremacy in real life.
Karen and BBQ Becky memes, she writes in her book, have the potential to disrupt White supremacist logics by framing these women as racist and demanding consequences. This gives Black communities a platform to challenge White supremacy and demand justice.
Karen and BBQ Becky videos often incorporate fictional police complaints to target people of color. For instance, one video featured a white woman calling the police on a Black family for having a barbecue at a lake; she racially stereotyped them by asserting they weren’t allowed to have it because they didn’t possess a permit.
3. The Meme’s Future
The Karen Meme has become a major social media phenomenon, yet its potential reach remains uncertain. While some applaud its satire, others label it sexist and racist.
Karens are middle-aged white women who are seen as self-entitled and use their privilege to impose a set of rules on others. Karens often complain about service industry employees or anyone else doing something they find offensive, even if it is only an inconvenience.
As the term’s popularity spread, it became harder for these women to remain anonymous – especially when their interactions with customers, coworkers or strangers went viral on social media. As a result, internet creators began turning these events into humorous sketches.
For instance, one Redditor created an entire subreddit to poke fun at such behavior. It’s called r/F—YouKaren and boasts over 600,000 followers. The site posts posts that decry such cruelty as an example of “anti-vaxxer.”
The Karen Meme has gained widespread attention, but employers who employ employees with this term could face serious difficulties. If an employee complains to their superiors or Human Resources about being treated unfairly because of their use of the phrase, they may have grounds to file a discrimination claim.
In some cases, discrimination claims can be successful; however, the process is intricate and requires extensive proof of causation. To be successful in a discrimination case, the plaintiff must prove their employer knew or should have known of their protected status under federal or state law.
Therefore, defending against lawsuits based on the Karen Meme could prove particularly challenging for an employer. Not only could legal liability arise from its use, but it could also create an immense reputation problem for the business, damaging its brand and leading customers to lose faith in it.
4. The Meme’s Impact
If you’re a frequent user of social media, chances are you have come across the Karen Meme. This popular joke revolves around a middle-aged woman with short blonde hair who would complain when her requests weren’t fulfilled – such as getting an iced skinny vanilla latte with too many ice cubes.
Karens meme has grown beyond its origin as a joke to become an online sensation that often draws on classism and racial biases, even showing how some white women use their privilege to oppress others. Viral videos of Karens calling the police on neighbors or shouting at Lyft drivers have amassed millions of views on YouTube; however, these videos ignore the systemic racism many people of color experience every day in real life.
At a recent Berkman Klein Center event at the University of Michigan, moderated by assistant professor of communication and media Allissa Richardson, research was done on Karens as cultural icons that have contributed to our understanding of race in 2020. BKC fellow Alyse Williams noted that Karens have had as much an effect on systemic racial inequality as individual instances.
Williams points out the Karen phenomenon is similar to the use of basic white names in mocking memes – “Chads,” “Talkback Tammys” and “Beckys.” These terms refer to people who adhere to gender norms and beauty standards, often used in the predominantly white men’s rights movement.
She noted that in black American culture, stereotypes often serve more as metaphors than actual events. Yet these memes have recently appeared online as an attempt to find humor within a racialized world. It’s an attempt to make fun of things people of color experience which may be harder to explain verbally than what white people do.
Chen rightfully notes that the Karen narrative has gone too far – it doesn’t do justice to racial disparities that exist in this country and it’s also an unsafe and unhelpful way of police other people.
