Over the summer, videos featuring entitled white women acting out became viral hits online, leading to their derogatory nickname “Karens,” coined from a post joking about middle-aged women who display their entitlement.
Incidents involving Karens may be alarming, yet are more than a reflection of a culture of privilege and entitlement. Why do Karens act this way?
1. Lack of Empathy and Self-Awareness
Karens tend to be self-centered individuals who lack empathy and regard for the needs or perspectives of others. Karens can often display a sense of entitlement; for instance, believing they deserve special accommodations at stores or restaurants because of their gender. These types of behaviors can often be seen online as well; videos like Amy Cooper becoming known as the “Central Park Karen” after calling police on an African American man asking her to curb her dog or women lash out against staff for enforcing coronavirus mask requirements are just two examples of their kind of behavior that have gone viral online.
Although Karens may come off as entitled and rude, they don’t always represent bad people. One could make the argument that Karens are simply trying to be heard; they think if they yell loud enough someone will listen. What they fail to realize is their actions will have lasting repercussions – such as mocking on social media platforms.
Karen began as a low-key, sexist joke, but has quickly evolved into an inveterate attack on white supremacy in 2020’s volatile social politics. With cases of profiling and tensions rising nationwide, Karen meme has come to symbolize one form of online social justice activism: harassment of minority groups online.
There is also an evident societal fascination with women acting out like Karens. This could be due to an outdated myth about female hysteria or simply wanting to see women misbehaving like the men do on films and TV shows; either way, it can be problematic for women who see their anger depicted so glamorized and demonized in media coverage.
At any rate, the popularity of stories about Karens illustrates how the Internet can be an unforgiving space for those expressing their anger or discontent. Although it provides people with a platform to express themselves freely and honestly, its reach also amplifies certain voices over others and often increases resentment against certain people.
2. Fear of Losing Control
The Karen meme — an insulting nickname given to middle-aged white women who complain endlessly and exhibit entitled behavior such as demanding to speak with managers — has long been popular on social media platforms like Facebook. Unfortunately, its reach extends far beyond social media; real life run-ins with Karens are all too frequent and do not just occur during coronavirus outbreaks – such encounters could occur anywhere from stores, airlines and social media forums such as Nextdoor.
Karens may become violent in response to feeling powerless and out of control; this fear often manifests itself through aggressive, inconsiderate or violent behaviors that reflect an overwhelming need for power and control. Feeling powerless and out of control can be extremely stressful for women and can create an inability to think rationally as well as an overwhelming sense of needing it back.
Control is a fundamental human need, often expressed through protecting one’s own self-image. People who act like Karens feel threatened by any situation which might jeopardize their standing in society even when it isn’t entirely their fault – making it imperative for those encountering Karens to stay calm and focus on the facts of each situation they find themselves in.
An important step in this process is listening carefully and without judgment to Karen’s concerns, no matter how unreasonable they may seem. But this may be challenging if someone has already decided how she feels about an incident and refuses to consider other viewpoints.
Dani Weller, customer service team leader for Bionic, suggests staying calm and focusing on facts instead of emotions when responding to Karens. If you want to successfully confront Karens, listen carefully and explain both sides of their story before coming up with solutions if possible – otherwise just remain as calm as possible.”
Noteworthy is the fact that, while Karen encounters tend to garner more media coverage, similar scenarios could easily happen with men as well. Although implicit sexism might be at play here, elevating behavior solely according to gender labeling would be discriminatory and unfair.
3. Entitlement
Have you seen any viral videos recently featuring people named Karen? Many such clips feature them being angry with other individuals for what they perceive to be unfair treatment; this trend can especially be seen with regard to coronavirus pandemic crisis where many “Karens” insisting stores allow them to shop without masks; or public health officials lied about its risks.
Experts often point out that entitlement drives Karens to act irrationally. They may feel entitled and superiority that allows them to dismiss other’s concerns or demands as being unnecessary or inappropriate; depending on the situation, fear of losing control or wanting to assert dominance may also play a factor. Thus, Karens may become aggressive or call the police against anyone who challenges their authority, leading to violent reactions such as angering reactions.
As such, when confronting someone acting like Karen, the best strategy is to remain calm and listen. Dani Weller of Bionic’s customer service team leader advises staying equanimous by hearing out their viewpoint even if you disagree with it and attempt to explain things calmly rather than escalate any conflict further.
Yahoo Life recently sought advice from experts regarding what causes Karen meltdowns and her entitled and rage-filled behavior, and they had some enlightening, disconcerting, yet hopeful responses.
Matt Schimkowitz, editor at Know Your Meme, explained that the Karen meme originally began as an insult against middle-aged white women perceived to behave in an entitled fashion. Later, however, its meaning has expanded into representing people who behave disruptively or aggressively in public; its increasing popularity now means it represents those acting inappropriately or rudely.
Some experts contend that the coronavirus crisis has altered the meaning of Karen meme. Following national dialogue about Black Lives Matter protests and using pandemic outbreak as an excuse to target minority groups and harass them unfairly; its new association with white supremacy seems set to remain and has taken on even more sinister forms since its onset.
4. Anger
Videos featuring Karens acting out have gone viral, showing them being angry, shouting at and cursing service workers, without considering their actions will affect others around them. Sometimes their anger may even be directed toward people of color – an interesting reversal in power relations because usually mainstream society defines outsiders and deviants; now however, thanks to this meme Karens can now be labeled outsiders or deviants by less informed individuals.
Anger can be an intensely damaging and debilitating emotion, capable of driving us towards aggression or violence, which is why so many are wary of letting it control them. Additionally, anger often results in defensive responses that lead to defensive beliefs as people quickly become defensive when angry – one study even showed men being seen as strong when expressing anger, while when women do so they’re seen as more hysterical; to avoid becoming Karen it is crucial to remain calm by listening carefully without interrupting, listening with patience and refraining from interrupting.
Karens may act out because they believe they deserve special treatment. For example, they might demand speaking directly with a manager at their store without considering its impact on employees or other customers.
Karens may be acting out because they feel powerless over their circumstances. Covid-19 restrictions may force them to do things differently from how they’ve always done them and this could create feelings of helplessness and anxiety that spark anger in them.
The Karen meme has demonstrated the need to address attitudes like casual racism and privilege before they spiral out of control. While Karen began as a harmless joke, its use is now being exploited to highlight these problems.
