Karen is an urban dictionary that refers to a white woman seen as entitled or demanding beyond normal. It often appears in memes depicting white women using their privilege to get what they want.
Karens tend to act out, put themselves before others, and throw public tantrums over minor inconveniences. Additionally, they possess narrow-minded views and often make racist police complaints against black people.
Definition
Karen is a derogatory term used as slang to denote an arrogant white woman who demands too much from life. Typically, this title is associated with middle-aged white women who use their privilege to gain favor or control others’ behavior.
Karen’s behavior ranges from innocuous (like giving raisins to children on Halloween) to annoyingly irritating (such as driving an SUV to carpool her kids to soccer practice, hoping the ref doesn’t make a wrong call because she will sue!).
Other examples of Karen-baiting include an obnoxious person who demands to speak to a manager at a store, is anti-vaccination or engages in racist microaggressions. Other traits associated with Karen include blonde bob haircuts, minivans adorned with rhinestones, “Live, Laugh, Love” posters, and Spotify playlists featuring 2000s pop/rock songs.
In 2020, Karen gained notoriety as a label used to denigrate white women seen in viral videos engaging in what was widely perceived as racist or selfish acts. The term spread as an outcry against the coronavirus pandemic, demonstrations for racial justice issues, and other contentious events.
Urban Dictionary defines a Karen as an aged middle-white woman who often sports a blonde bob haircut and requests to speak to the store manager when she has complaints or demands. She’s also part of Generation X and anti-vax soccer mom culture who uses Instagram for posting workout selfies.
Recently, several popular videos featuring Karen baiters have gone viral online. The most popular ones showcase a middle-aged white woman complaining about everything and sporting an “I-speak-to-your-manager” haircut.
Due to this, many users on social media have felt empowered to post offensive videos and photos of Karens. Whether it’s a young man leaning out his car window calling an older woman a bitch or an arrogant Karen using her privilege to police other people, these instances have become the focus of viral videos and meme campaigns.
Attiah believes the name “Karen” originated with a female character in Goodfellas and Mean Girls; however, it can also be cited as an allusion to Dane Cook’s Retaliation joke. No matter its source, Attiah maintains that its meaning should never be misappropriated by anyone else.
Examples
Karen is a derogatory term for an arrogant, entitled, and often racist middle-aged white woman who uses her privilege to gain control or police other people’s behavior. She may call the police on a black neighbor, make demands at work or ask to speak with the manager when she’s dissatisfied with the service received.
She may also be the white birder who calls the police on a blackbirder when they’re out in Central Park. Recently, this phrase has been linked to several racial incidents, such as George Floyd’s murder and Amy Cooper calling the police on Christian Cooper for allegedly pulling a race grenade while birdwatching there.
Many consider Karens to be an example of casual racism, often showing ignorance about their privilege and prejudice. On occasion, however, it may also be used to refer to older individuals who experience difficulty when out of their routine or after having had a difficult day.
Some argue the term is rooted in black American internet culture and originated as an act of resistance against racism and classism by white women. Julie Bindel on Twitter confirmed this theory, saying ‘Karen’ is “sexist and sneering at a middle-class woman who dares to use her voice.”
Others see the term as a way of mocking those with excessive demands and serving as a reminder that we need to pay attention to those around us. Software freedom advocate and attorney Karen Sandler enjoys using it because she finds it “a little bit real.”
Karens come in many forms, from the mildly offensive (giving raisins to kids on Halloween) to the downright irritating (driving an SUV to carpool her kids to soccer practice so she can ensure no wrong calls are made). A recent article on Yahoo about the sexiest names for entitled men suggested Ken, Charles, and Henry as possible male equivalents to ‘Karen’; however, most people disagree.
Origin
Karen is a feminine given name commonly found throughout East Asia. In English, it’s either an adaptation of Catherine or Katharina (meaning “Catherine” in Old Norse).
In the early 2020s, Karen became increasingly popular across social media and viral videos in response to numerous instances of white women engaging in racially-charged behavior. It’s a slang term for middle-class white women who demonstrate behaviors borne of privilege – such as demanding to speak to management, being racist, or committing micro-aggressions – without consequence.
Karens have an ambiguous origin, though it is generally accepted that they began as a pejorative term for white women perceived to be entitled or demanding beyond what is normal. This attitude often manifests itself in her attire or appearance – many Karens sport bob-cut hairstyles, for example.
Though no definitive source is known, various theories exist regarding where Karen originated. Some suggest it began as a slang expression in black culture to refer to an intrusive white woman by their given name; others believe it originated with comedian Dane Cook’s 2005 skit “The Friend Nobody Likes,” in which he describes an annoying white girl named Karen.
Recent theories suggest it originated as a slang phrase in digital culture through memes. It’s become a trending sensation on platforms like Tik Tok and Twitter, where users use it to refer to certain types of people they don’t particularly enjoy.
In 2020, Karen also became a common term to describe an aggressive and threatening woman who engages in behaviors that could be hazardous to others. Such conduct includes being an anti-vaxxer, committing racist microaggressions, or threatening police over minor offenses.
Karen slang can be especially damaging to black people, who may face discrimination based on race or skin tone. According to Apryl Williams from Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, Karen slang serves as a way for black individuals to archive and document instances of this behavior.
Meaning
Karen is an urban dictionary term that refers to a white woman perceived as entitled or demanding beyond what is normal. She often appears in memes complaining endlessly about something, such as being discriminated against for wearing certain hairstyles or needing to speak to the manager.
The term “f***youkaren” gained notoriety on Reddit subreddit r/f***youkaren in 2017, where people could share stories and memes about interactions with entitled middle-aged white women. It has also been tied to a Reddit user who posted complaints about his ex-wife Karen who he claimed had taken their children during divorce proceedings.
As the term has gained notoriety, British feminist blogger Julie Bindel has condemned it as a slur based on class prejudice and should never be used to describe individuals.
According to Apryl Williams, a Ph.D. student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies social media, this term has its origins in black American internet culture and serves as an attempt to make sense of real-world racism and oppression.
One possible origin of the term could be social media shortening, which has become increasingly common across different platforms. Many popular names today have been reduced to just one word or letter – such as “Karen,” which was reduced to Karen in March 2018, according to Know Your Meme, a website that collects and curates online memes.
Another potential origin of slang could be attributed to a historical practice of abbreviating words, known as “shortening and abbreviation,” which began in the late 19th century, according to I.M. Nick, a nomenclature scholar and former president of the American Name Society.
It has also been suggested that the term has a wider significance, as it was featured in viral videos shaming white women for engaging in controversial behavior, such as calling the police on Black people barbecuing or stenciling “Black Lives Matter” on their own property.