New to Twitter, feel sick RE 'Karen' meme

[AllWashedOut]

How have we sunk so low? Since when did women start bashing other women so vilely?

I started on Twitter for career reasons (what a joke) and the people in the industry are full-on woke. I want to cry. Karen as a cruel stereotype?

White person (typified as a woman called Karen), who demands priority at all times, a “can I speak to your supervisor” person. Would claim to be being victimised. We’d once have called such a person “a bit of of a twat” but in these BLM days more an entitled whinger on FB

You should do some research/listen to black people about their usage,experiences and the "rise" of Karen. Maybe watch some Karen videos.

Even if you don't change your mind,which is fine, it might give you some understanding and perspective.

So MN is just for people who use people’s names as insults? Who make judgements and use crude stereotypes to make themselves feel superior? Sounds like something Katie Hopkins would say ...

I have no issue with the Karen meme. There’s a similar meme for blokes too. It’s targeting a specific type of woman and they do exist. It’s funny but I get not everyone has the same humour but to feel sick about it seems an overreaction. You’re entitled to your view on it though.

I've been on MN for over a decade. I know what it's like. I've never seen anyone call Priti Patel 'Karen' though (which seems racist as well as misogynist along the lines of coconut though I'm happy to be educated if I got that wrong). Or any of those other names. Debate them, yes, but not use them as putdowns. I've never felt as depressed here as I do on Twitter because I know people hold disappointing opinions. I move on from the threads that annoy me. On twitter, in the context of looking for employment (rather than entertainment) and finding all the potential employers laughing at Karen memes...well, yes, I admit I am upset at that.

@ComeOnBabyPopMyBubble

You should do some research/listen to black people about their usage,experiences and the "rise" of Karen. Maybe watch some Karen videos.

Even if you don't change your mind,which is fine, it might give you some understanding and perspective.

I understand the 'rise of Karen' perfectly well, I just don't think it works in the UK. Here it isn't used by a class of people with less power against a class of people with more. It's used by middle class people against working class women. And not only are they punching down, they're expecting to be patted on the back for doing so. Nope, fuck that. It's nasty classism dressed up as wokeness.

Nancydrawn No, Chad isn’t used as an equivalent to Karen. A Chad is a typical good looking, dim witted (according to incels) sporty jock type of guy that is horrible but gets all the girls.

@MessyBess

I have no issue with the Karen meme. There’s a similar meme for blokes too. It’s targeting a specific type of woman and they do exist. It’s funny but I get not everyone has the same humour but to feel sick about it seems an overreaction. You’re entitled to your view on it though.

Could you post some examples of similar memes for blokes?

I won’t because it’s not similar in the way you want it to be. There are memes using blokes names with stereotypes but obviously those stereotypes won’t be the same as the Karen ones because that’s a specific type of woman being referred to.

Seems to me that the term Karen is a put down to white middle aged women to silence them. People that resort to using terms like Karen or gammon as a quick put down, instead of engaging in reasonable discussion, are generally lacking in intelligence or critical thought imo. At least they out themselves for what they are though, which is one benefit.

@MessyBess

I won’t because it’s not similar in the way you want it to be. There are memes using blokes names with stereotypes but obviously those stereotypes won’t be the same as the Karen ones because that’s a specific type of woman being referred to.

How do you know what I want them to be?

A few male stereotype memes would use the names Brad, Steve, Kyle etc. Chad is what I described above and the female equivalent would be a Stacy. I think I spend too much time on reddit lol. But go there if you want to see the memes of both sexes.

@leftovercoffeecake
I have now spent the grand total of 30 minutes on youtube looking for Karen enlightenment. I have to admit I'm not super clear on the trope. Most of the videos are pastiches. Of the footage of real women, many seem to have mental health/anger management issues. They aren't entitled, they're borderline nuts. Laughing at the mentally ill doesn't seem that funny to me. Some videos are of men waiting for the 'Karen' to arrive with her complaint. Context is hard, one or two women seem to have legitimate complaints but become the butt of the 'Karen' joke. Juvenile. All of the videos have a nasty undercurrent seeking to humiliate.

As in they aren’t directly comparable. For example, a Karen is typically a white middle aged woman with a certain hair style that complains and talks down to staff she would deem beneath her yeah? Well a Steve meme or a Kyle meme for example will have a different stereotype being used and so it won’t be comparable to a Karen one. So why should I post something for you to say it isn’t the same at all?

@MessyBess

A few male stereotype memes would use the names Brad, Steve, Kyle etc. Chad is what I described above and the female equivalent would be a Stacy. I think I spend too much time on reddit lol. But go there if you want to see the memes of both sexes.

As it happens, I've been using Reddit for as long as there has been a Reddit. I've seen memes using men's names but never in the same context as Karen. Men's names tend to be used by other men as a way of having a dig at a man they feel is more successful (usually with women) than they are. Men's names are never used to imply that a man had too much to say for himself and should shut up.

If you have examples of the latter though I'd be interested to see them.

@MessyBess

As in they aren’t directly comparable. For example, a Karen is typically a white middle aged woman with a certain hair style that complains and talks down to staff she would deem beneath her yeah? Well a Steve meme or a Kyle meme for example will have a different stereotype being used and so it won’t be comparable to a Karen one. So why should I post something for you to say it isn’t the same at all?

Because you said 'There’s a similar meme for blokes too.'

And that’s why I refuse to post anything lol. I already said they aren’t comparable but here you are saying the same but insisting I’ve said I can find the exact same thing with a male name.. also, I explained chad to you and there is a direct female equivalent. Only Chads are used to describe what you are on about. Take a look for some Kyle memes etc, of course they won’t have taken off the same way a Karen meme has and that’s because of sexism and some men using it to simply shut a woman with opinions up. I’ve been called it before on reddit and I’ve argued back against it and funny enough, they tend to get the downvoted because they don’t use it right.

So, there is literally a meme called scumbag Steve. Basically all shitty things a Steve does. We don’t see it anymore because it’s an old meme now and the internet has moved on. Also the Kyle memes where all kyles drink monster and punch drywalls etc. I’d hardly say these memes are putting men in a good light lol but if you want to insist they do then whatever.

@MessyBess

And that’s why I refuse to post anything lol. I already said they aren’t comparable but here you are saying the same but insisting I’ve said I can find the exact same thing with a male name.. also, I explained chad to you and there is a direct female equivalent. Only Chads are used to describe what you are on about. Take a look for some Kyle memes etc, of course they won’t have taken off the same way a Karen meme has and that’s because of sexism and some men using it to simply shut a woman with opinions up. I’ve been called it before on reddit and I’ve argued back against it and funny enough, they tend to get the downvoted because they don’t use it right.

No, I'm not saying they are the same - you did. I directly quoted your words - ''There’s a similar meme for blokes too.''. As you've now said yourself, there is no male equivalent of using a female name (a name that is almost exclusively that of working class women in the UK), to silence women. No one would dream of telling men from any background to be quiet. This is why it is sexist and classist.

It doesn't matter if you're able to defend yourself against being called a Karen, what about the women who aren't? Some women don't mind being cat called, that doesn't mean other women should be okay with it.

Similar doesn’t mean the same.. I mean there are male names used in the way the name Karen and Jan have been used. Anyway, I’ve posted some for you. Feel free to research more at your own leisure. They aren’t common now because like I said, the internet moves on quick these days.

MessyBess yes, but no one was telling Steve or Kyle to shut up. The Karen meme may have started out with good intentions, but it has literally turned into a way to tell women to stop talking.

And as I keep saying, in the UK, it has turned into a way for middle class people to sneer at working class women. Look at the people on the Twitter thread the OP posted. They're a bunch of middle class 'writers', literally people who can afford to stay at home and laugh at the Karens who are probably stacking the shelves in Waitrose. And the fact they aimed it at Priti Patel is mind boggling.

Also you seem to be comparing the Karen meme to people in the UK.. that’s your mistake. It’s an American based meme so it’s different over here.

MessyBess I know what similar means, and I stand by my point that there is no similar meme using a male name.

@MessyBess

Also you seem to be comparing the Karen meme to people in the UK.. that’s your mistake. It’s an American based meme so it’s different over here.

It is different over there, but still sexist.

But, this thread is about a group of middle class British people using it to laugh at a WOC. Pretty much the reverse of how it was intended to be used in the US?

Then you haven’t been seeing it but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. I’m on reddit a lot and the comments have things like shit up Karen but using a male name if the poster is male. It does happen. Not as much, granted but it does happen. You’re making this out to be a much bigger issue than it is. Some are using it for purely sexist reasons but that’s their problem, don’t lower yourself to it and ignore it. They want the fight about it and responding just gives them that.

I meant shut up Karen, shit up makes it a whole new sentence.