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question "Karen" is now a derogatory term for entitled white women. Since when?

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I'm usually the hip and current one in the room among my friends. Every new term I catch most times.

But I'm embarrassed to say I missed the repurposing of the name "Karen" into a derogatory term for privileged entitled white women. Lol

Since when?

Just Google "Karen meaning" for explanation.

Interestingly.
karen is a member of an indigenous people of eastern Burma (Myanmar) and western Thailand. The language of the Karen, probably Sino-Tibetan.

Also there are 46,105 domains with the keyword Karen.

Anyone ever heard of this repurposing of the name Karen.

Curious to know who started this.

Similar to OkBoomer.com coined by some kid.
 
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This "Karen" thing even has it's own Wikipedia? seriously?!?! lol

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_(pejorative)

Karen is a pejorative term used in the United States and other English-speaking countries for a woman perceived to be entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is considered appropriate or necessary. A common stereotype is that of a racist white woman who uses her privilege to demand her own way at the expense of others. Depictions also include demanding to "speak to the manager", being an anti-vaxxer, or having a particular bob cut hairstyle. As of 2020, the term was increasingly being used as a general-purpose term of disapproval for middle-aged white women.

Origin
The term may have originated on Black Twitter as a meme used to describe white women who "tattle on Black kids' lemonade stands".[1] It has also been described as originating with black women but having been co-opted by white men.[1][2][3] University of Virginia media researcher Meredith Clark said that the idea of a white woman in the vicinity of whom blacks needed to be careful because she wouldn't hesitate to use her "privilege" at the expense of others, "has always been there; it just hasn't always been so specific to one person's name. Karen has gone by different names. Back in the '90s, when 'Baby Got Back' came out, it was Becky."[1]

Another use of the term Karen as an internet meme dates to an anonymous Reddit user, Fuck_You_Karen, who posted rants denigrating his ex-wife Karen, whom he alleged had taken both his children and, later, his house during divorce proceedings. The posts led to the creation of a subreddit in 2017, r/FuckYouKaren, to both compile a narrative and share memes about the posts. Since Fuck_You_Karen deleted his account, the subreddit refocused to memes about the stereotype in general rather than one specific woman.[4][5]

The name Karen had negative connotations predating the Internet meme, the notable uses being Lorraine Bracco's depiction of Karen Friedman Hill in the 1990 film Goodfellas, and Amanda Seyfried's ditzy schoolgirl character in the 2004 film Mean Girls. Other noted uses of Karen as a joke punchline include Dane Cook's 2005 sketch "The Friend Nobody Likes" from his album Retaliation,[5] and a 2016 Internet meme regarding a woman in an advert for the Nintendo Switch console who exhibits antisocial behavior and is given the nickname "antisocial Karen."[4][6]

Meaning and use

Pictures of Kate Gosselin are often used to depict Karen,[4][7] including the "can-I-speak-to-your-manager haircut".[8]
Kansas State University professor Heather Suzanne Woods, whose research interests include memes, said a Karen's defining characteristics are "entitlement, selfishness, a desire to complain" and that a Karen "demands the world exist according to her standards with little regard for others, and she is willing to risk or demean others to achieve her ends.”[1] Rachel Charlene Lewis, writing for Bitch media, agrees, saying a Karen "sees no one as an individual, instead moving through the world prepared to fight faceless conglomerate of lesser-than people who won’t give her what she wants and feels she deserves. She’ll wield the power that, yes, might be very different from that of a white man, as she makes her demands. And that feeling of entitlement is what makes her, undeniably, a Karen."[2]

The Karen meme carries several stereotypes, the most notable being the stereotype that a Karen will demand to "speak with the manager" of a hypothetical service provider.[4][9] Other stereotypes include anti-vaccination beliefs, racism,[10] use of Facebook and a particular bob haircut with blond highlights; pictures of Kate Gosselin are often used to depict Karen,[7] and her bob is sometimes called the "can-I-speak-to-your-manager haircut".[5][4][11][9]

There has been some debate as to whether "Karen" is a slur.[12] While the term is used exclusively in a pejorative manner towards a person of a specific race and gender, some have argued that "Karen" lacks the historical context to be considered a slur, and that calling it one trivializes actual discrimination.[13] Others argue that the targets of the term have immense privilege, and that "an epithet that lacks the power to discriminate is just an insult."[12] Hadley Freeman argued that use of the meme has become less about describing behavior than controlling it and "telling women to shut up".[14] Jennifer Weiner, writing in the New York Times during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, said the meme had succeeded in silencing her, saying she had had to balance her desire to complain about a nearby man coughing into the open air, hawking and spitting on the sidewalk, with her fear of being called a Karen.[15]

In April 2020, journalist and radical feminist Julie Bindel asked on her Twitter feed, "Does anyone else think the Karen-slur is woman-hating and based on class prejudice?"[16] Freeman replied, saying it was "sexist, ageist, and classist, in that order". In May 2020, Kaitlyn Tiffany, writing in The Atlantic, asked, "Is a Karen just a woman who does anything at all that annoys people? If so, what is the male equivalent?", saying the meme was being called misogynistic.[1] Also in May 2020, Nina Burleigh wrote the memes "are merely excuses to heap scorn on random middle-aged white women."[17] Matt Schimkowitz, a senior editor at Know Your Meme, said the term "just kind of took over all forms of criticism towards white women online."[5]

Examples
The mid-2019 formation of Tropical Storm Karen in the Atlantic hurricane basin led to memes likening the storm to the stereotype; several users made jokes about the storm wanting to "speak with the manager", with images photoshopped to include the "Karen haircut" on either the hurricane or its forecast path.[18]

In December 2019, Australian media reported widely that in the town of Mildura, a woman named Karen had been filmed trying to pull down an Aboriginal Flag which was being displayed by her neighbors. Despite her efforts she was unable to pull down the flag, leading to a Twitter hashag #TooStrongForYouKaren and other social media responses.[19][20]

During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, the term was used to describe women abusing Asian-American health workers due to the virus's origins in China,[21] those hoarding essential supplies such as toilet paper, and both those who policed others' behavior to enforce quarantine[22] and those who protested the continuance of the restrictions because they prevented them visiting hair salons,[1] prompting one critic to ask whether the term had devolved into a general purpose criticism for middle-aged white women.[1] Use of the term increased from 100,000 mentions on social media in January 2020 to 2.7 million mentions in May 2020.[17]

In May 2020 Christian Cooper, writing about the Central Park birdwatching incident, said Amy Cooper's "inner Karen fully emerged and took a dark turn" when he started videoing the encounter.[23] He recorded her calling the police and telling them that an "African-American man" was threatening her life.[24][23]
 
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You don't cure hate and ignorance with more of the same.

I think it is hypocritical to say don't fight hate with hate while downplaying derogatory statements and racially-fueled harassment. Recording and holding people accountable for their despicable and racist behaviour is "hate" yet the person who actually made the remark simply made a "mistake" or had a "weak moment"? Is that not hate? Call a spade a spade.

People need to change the narrative from I know what X said was wrong and disgusting but there's no need to destroy his life to I know X's life is destroyed but he really shouldn't have had said those nasty things.

Are you so sure that everyone ever portrayed in those public freak-out videos is just a bad person?

I think anyone who uses a racial slur or makes a racially-charged 911 call is a bad person.
 
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There are whole YouTube channels devoted to this term.

I'm always left scratching my head because I find that the person pulling out their phone to record someone in a weak moment is just as offensive. Maybe more so.
i was thinking the same thing, how hateful does someone have to be to run around with a phone just to record humans dealing with being humans. hmmmmm :)
 
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I’m sorry but I don’t think the person being recorded is the victim. I think now days it’s necessary to record something because if you don’t have proof you up s*** creek without a paddle
 
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there is hateful and needing it. Like a hateful woman yelling rape when nothing happened and then a victim of rape having to talk about it. Its just opposite situations with the same subject. Sucks!!!!! :)
 
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I like that Christian Cooper has chosen not to help the investigation into Amy Cooper.

I don't think he realized how bad the world would look upon Amy Cooper. or did he?
I think even he think this has been blown all out of proportion because of the media and he just wants to be out of it at this point. (maybe...)

We now live in a society where you can be videoed for all your mistakes. Be careful. What you say or do. Freedom is an illusion.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/08/us/christian-cooper-central-park/index.html
 
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I like that Christian Cooper has chosen not to help the investigation into Amy Cooper.

I don't think he realized how bad the world would look upon Amy Cooper. or did he?
I think even he think this has been blown all out of proportion because of the media and he just wants to be out of it at this point. (maybe...)

We now live in a society where you can be videoed for all your mistakes. Be careful. What you say or do. Freedom is an illusion.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/08/us/christian-cooper-central-park/index.html
i agree, there aint nothing on earth that doesnt have a clause of why we are enjoying it or disliking it. :)
 
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then there will be true freedom after our lives, well for some, some will just stubbornly repeat it over and over.
 
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I think it is hypocritical to say don't fight hate with hate while downplaying derogatory statements and racially-fueled harassment. Recording and holding people accountable for their despicable and racist behaviour is "hate" yet the person who actually made the remark simply made a "mistake" or had a "weak moment"? Is that not hate? Call a spade a spade.

People need to change the narrative from I know what X said was wrong and disgusting but there's no need to destroy his life to I know X's life is destroyed but he really shouldn't have had said those nasty things.



I think anyone who uses a racial slur or makes a racially-charged 911 call is a bad person.
Again... You're taking my general comments about how we all need to change our behaviour, and applying them to one situation, which is misrepresenting what I said.

The central park woman was clearly being hateful and was in the wrong.
 
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i agree, there aint nothing on earth that doesnt have a clause of why we are enjoying it or disliking it. :)


The way I see it any one of us can become a victim of this "beast" we call media and social media.

If your "Screw up" or momentary lapse in judgement can "sell papers" and even if it wasn't "that bad" the media's ultimate purpose is to "Sell papers".

Granted many of the stuff the "papers" write about are genuinely "BAD".

I'm just saying if it's a "slow news week" and if you piss off someone these days you can be on the wrong end of this "machine".

and let's be clear this is a "machine" a "beast" and once it's loose it can have a mind of it's own.

If it reaches the deepest and darkest corners of "crazy" on the internet you will get trolled and attacked.

So even if people like "Karen" act up I try not to jump on the Mob band wagon and throw potatoes and rotten eggs like they did during ancient times.

Because there is no guarantee that one day we won't be between the crosshairs of this sort of hate and derogatory criticism.

I respect the rights of people being idiots. After all this is the point of Freedom. We have to put up with idiots because they can be free to be idiots.

Lest we become the Uyghurs in Xinjiang China where 5 million of which are in concentration camps. I mean "re-education" camps in China.
 
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i agree, there aint nothing on earth that doesnt have a clause of why we are enjoying it or disliking it. :)
Nice. And yep, there has been a turning point, at some point, Point Break, Breaking Bad, pointedly; where disliking/enjoying it/whatever/whomever equates a mandate for change, rather than just letting it roll and sucking it up.

I think the point arrived, where an apple became a computer, and we lost the ability to turn rot into jam or pies.
 
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Bought Karen.tv today. First name with lots of buzz? I’ll take it!
 
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oh lord, we are too advanced, some barbarians are going to come in again and it all will start over. yuck! lol. :)
 
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Bought Karen.tv today. First name with lots of buzz? I’ll take it!

Lol F*CK you Keith!!!

Hehehe. Jk jk. Nice Catch! I'm surprised that wasn't taken. Like I said 46k domains with Karen in it. Mostly single words in all extensions. How the hell was that available ? Aftermarket?
 
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Again... You're taking my general comments about how we all need to change our behaviour, and applying them to one situation, which is misrepresenting what I said.

The central park woman was clearly being hateful and was in the wrong.



New York "Karen's" are the worst.
Especially those who live around central Park.

Upper Eastside
Upper Westside

Many are unmedicated.

I dated a few over the year in my youth. Most are rich brats that want to rebel against mommy daddy and go out with a brown boy.lol

They treat central Park like it's privately their even though rich and poor people taxes out for it.
 
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You should assume you are being recorded anytime you step outside your home as you likely are and act accordingly. People recording things is for proof and is legal.If people choose to show themselves as racist, bigoted, vile and any number of other vices including criminal ones in a public arena they should know it is likely being caught on film.

I am grateful for the filming of atrocious behavior. People, including the cops, can’t talk their way out of something and lie when there is proof. You lost your job, racist lady? Oh well. Everyone is responsible for their own shitty behavior. Would you believe half the stories out there without the filming of it? Many would not.
 
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Again... You're taking my general comments about how we all need to change our behaviour, and applying them to one situation, which is misrepresenting what I said.

The central park woman was clearly being hateful and was in the wrong.

I understand your points and I respectfully disagree. I don't think there's anything wrong or hateful about exposing malicious persons neither do I feel sorry for them. Every action has a reaction. Be polite and respectful to others and you'll never have to worry about anyone recording you.
 
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You should assume you are being recorded anytime you step outside your home as you likely are and act accordingly. People recording things is for proof and is legal.If people choose to show themselves as racist, bigoted, vile and any number of other vices including criminal ones in a public arena they should know it is likely being caught on film.

I am grateful for the filming of atrocious behavior. People, including the cops, can’t talk their way out of something and lie when there is proof. You lost your job, racist lady? Oh well. Everyone is responsible for their own shitty behavior. Would you believe half the stories out there without the filming of it? Many would not.
I understand your points and I respectfully disagree. I don't think there's anything wrong or hateful about exposing malicious persons neither do I feel sorry for them. Every action has a reaction. Be polite and respectful to others and you'll never have to worry about anyone recording you.
Maybe the government should record everyone all the time. That way poor behaviour never needs to go unchecked again.
 
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Lol F*CK you Keith!!!

Hehehe. Jk jk. Nice Catch! I'm surprised that wasn't taken. Like I said 46k domains with Karen in it. Mostly single words in all extensions. How the hell was that available ? Aftermarket?
It was owned by the registry so was a bit of a premium price, mid $xxx
 
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Maybe the government should record everyone all the time. That way poor behaviour never needs to go unchecked again.

I was with you for a minute, but that's apples to oranges, she was literally trying to portray him as a criminal when nothing had transpired. He should have allowed that to happen? Gone to jail so she wouldn't have a "bad" day? Without the video, he likely would have, no one would have believed him (at least not anyone in charge at the moment).
 
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I was with you for a minute, but that's apples to oranges, she was literally trying to portray him as a criminal when nothing had transpired. He should have allowed that to happen? Gone to jail so she wouldn't have a "bad" day? Without the video, he likely would have, no one would have believed him (at least not anyone in charge at the moment).
I'm referring to the comments made by the above posters who are grateful when any bad behaviour is caught on camera.

By that logic, wouldn't it be beneficial to catch all bad behaviour on camera?

Like @PreciousNickia said, if you're polite and respectful, you'll never have anything to worry about.
 
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