"Stop being a Karen"

As pp have said, this is just the word 'bitch' in a more palatable form. Stealth mysogyny.

Having grown up in an era where women were openly called bitches it's sad to see this has come back.

As usual most people even many women haven't cottoned on yet. They will when it's used to shut them down one too many times and eventually it'll become uncool to say it.

Then it will be replaced with the next thing, plus ca change!

It’s to try and stop women complaining about the many obvious acts of insanity pushed by the government together with social media. Being in support of any kind of public decorum makes you a Karen

It’s a Mumsnet coinage for a new person you introduce to your friends, who then takes them over and edges you out.

Though in fairness, I should add that it’s often used on here for friends you introduced who subsequently become closer to one another than to you, which some people find traitorous rather than just something that sometimes happens.

Are you aware of the origins? The original "Karen" was definitely over the top unreasonable. Then it evolved to include any women exploiting their privilege - mostly middle class women demanding to see the manager and having unrealistic expectations of working class women in minimum wage jobs.

It does seem to have evolved again but at the same time the outrage at the term on MN always seems much greater than the outrage at the behaviour that inspired it.

I don’t agree the term should be ‘Karen’, but examples of Karen behaviour:

• having a go at somewhere for parking where they’re perfectly entitled to, but the complainer usually parks there
• complaining to the mana that wait staff are not attentive enough, when they’re clearly run off their feet and the complainer has been making endless unreasonable requests just for the fun of seeing wait staff stressed.
• being vile to a barista because their order isn’t right, when in fact it’s exactly what the complainer ordered, they just ordered the wrong thing.

Karen ≠ assertive, masculine energy, or bossy. It’s totally unreasonable and rude. I don’t use the word myself but that’s the behaviour it refers to.

https://karenismyname.org/

There's an "empathy generator" for any one who doesn't get it

What does 'wendy' mean?

But who decides when some situation is ‘unreasonable’? It’s designed to stop middle-aged women complaining about anything from poor service to entrenched misogyny.

Before someone else says it, it is racist in the US. Its use here in the UK is against anyone female. It's against all of us. I really hate Wendy as well.

It's ridiculous and I'm amazed/depressed it ever took off as an insult. It wasn't acceptable then and it isn't acceptable now.

I thought it was mildly interesting at first because it was used in the states to describe racist white women who called the cops to their neighborhoods if they ever saw a black person nearby. But then it spread to any middle aged woman making a complaint about anything and now it just means bitch.

I call it out now because it's just another word meaning woman speaking when she should not.

That is true but I don't think that was the original intention. In any case, a man 'being a Karen' would probably just be called 'assertive'.

it's used when someone is being clearly over the top unreasonable But what is over the top unreasonable?

The bar is set almost on the ground for women.

It's not though (used to describe a woman being over the top). If you look on the swamp level social media (Reddit, DM) you'll see it aimed at any woman who dares to express an opinion, especially if she's arguing against a man.

Ageist and misogynistic and people that use it are not awfully bright

Although there will be the usual couple of posters along soon to explain that it is acceptable. They do every time there is a thread about this

@NeedBiggerWindChimes not just anyone being over the top unreasonable though is it - a woman apparently being. Men don’t get called Karen or even a male-name equivalent. Such misogyny, and women perpetuating too, sadly.

There are hundreds of mysoginist words to describe women. This is just the latest. It's said in order to close women down - plus ca change.

That's what I thought but it was explained to me that it's used when someone is being clearly over the top unreasonable. Like, genuinely unreasonable. Still a phrase that should die as it must be hard to be called Karen these days.

I have to admit I am guilty myself. I saw someone on TV and told my DH she looked like she'd want to talk to the manager soon. It was the haircut.

Its misogynistic bullshit designed to make women shut up.

I loathe it.

It means bitch. Substitute any use of “Karen” with “bitch” and the meaning is always the same.