AIBU - 'Karen' is about class, why are people so class-blind?

[Beancounter1]

AIBU to hate the way people confuse racism and sexism with class prejudice? To my mind, the use of the insult 'Karen', especially popular in the USA, doesn't just mean a middle-aged white woman who is arrogant, self-righteous, self absorbed, complaining, trouble-making, full-of-herself, etc. etc.
It means a middle or upper class woman with these characteristics. You won't see a working class 'Karen'. The stereotypical 'Karen' behaves as she does because she is on a power trip. Her social class advantage has gone to her head. That is why she complains in restaurants and is rude to shop assistants.
Why are people so blind to class prejudice? Why is the world so often seen only through the lens of race or sex? Is it because the powers-that-be (the 'elite') have a vested interest in deflecting and forestalling any class-based collective action or class consciousness? We are not encouraged to talk or think about class, but it is as significant as ever.

My Dh's sister was called Karen. My MiL would be horrified to know people consider it a working class name

We definitely need more open acknowledgement of class based prejudice in this country. Any discussion of class on MN ends in people claiming that class doesn’t exist. The irony of this is that there is no more classist and class aware society than the U.K. but people are able to incomprehensibly claim they are totally unaware of it.

I don't know the detailed history of the insult, or why that particular name was chosen, except that it came from the USA. I agree it doesn't translate to the UK.
Interesting that it is a new type of insult. If we take it to mean a rude and demanding 'I-want-to-see-the-manager' type, why now? What were such people/women called before?

Hyacinth?

Soto add another Real Issue onto the other Real Issues, its not just sexist, racist, snobbish it's also an example of American cultural imperialism.
Their experiences aren't universal, other countries have their own histories, issues and fault lines. Not every problem should be looked at from the American pov.

Karen’s not an upper class or middle class name though, certainly in the UK. I dont know about the USA.

The ‘Karen’ memes Ive seen all confirm this too.

Karen was never a middle class name - maybe lower MC. It's sexist and ageist though, that meme. Just putting down older women which seems to be socially acceptable for some reason and on MN

This

@atilathehut

What's a Karen hairstyle ?

a practical, easy-care bob. i mean, how dare women have haircuts like that.

You are not allowed to openly say Shut Up Woman anymore.
So now you can say it to any woman of any age or social class, who opens her mouth about anything or as a pp refers to, might not be actively sucking dick at the moment

As an American I will.assure there are plenty of lower income Karen's running around. Being a Karen has nothing to do with race or class. Just arrogance, ignorance and entitlement.

Francina670 - totally agree, the UK class system is ignored and denied, and is all but incomprehensible to outsiders. Since the 80's the media likes to pretend everyone is 'middle', but deep down we all know differently. The insidious nature of the prejudice, which goes both up and down, is very damaging.

I would suggest India might be a contender for the most openly 'classist' society, because of the caste system.
The USA has very little historical class system, at least compared to the UK. I have heard it said that their only class system is money, but I don't think that can be entirely true.
I've also heard it said that no one is more class conscious (in the UK) than the lower middle class.

It's like chucking "ok boomer" or "gammon" out there but for women in a lot of cases too

@Leaannb
Why don’t you just call them assholes? Why use a woman’s name?

@atilathehut
This. Popular in the early 90's but very dated now.

@7Days

Soto add another Real Issue onto the other Real Issues, its not just sexist, racist, snobbish it's also an example of American cultural imperialism. Their experiences aren't universal, other countries have their own histories, issues and fault lines. Not every problem should be looked at from the American pov.

Yep.

I’ve seen a lot of posters on MN say “oh, I don’t see race.” Maybe they’re also class blind?

Or maybe, if they say they dont see it then they dont have to talk about it.

Leaannb - so if the term is not mostly about race or class, it must be mostly sexism? A new way to condemn women for having a voice, but now conflated with other issues as a kind of plausible-deniability sexist slur?
Are there any black working-class 'Karens'? Or black middle-class ones?

Karen is not an upper-class name in the US.

It is a middle-class name--which is to say American middle class, and not British middle-class. (British middle-class is equivalent to American upper-middle class.)

You would probably call it lower-middle class or upper-working class. You're talking about someone with a steady but not high-powered job (mid-tier HR, e.g.); someone who shops at less expensive high-street stores; someone who 20 years ago would have driven a minivan but today drives an SUV-crossover (e.g. a Ford Escape) or maybe a full SUV (like a used Chevy Tahoe); someone who puts effort into decorating the house with wall decals/Yankee candles/seasonal decor; someone who reads but mostly reads light or inspirational fiction; someone who enjoys going on holidays to Cancun, all-inclusives in the Caribbean islands, or a theme park; someone who puts bumper stickers about her kids on the back of her car (or those decals that have a different figure for each of the family); someone who has girls nights and maybe does that group painting thing; someone who wears Pandora bracelets, etc.

I should say, before I get accused of being a snob, that I know many women who do all/many of these things and all but a couple are absolutely delightful. I also think this is an inexact science and that class snobbery is the pits. I'm just trying to nail down the more precise class coordinates for transAtlantic translation.

@atilathehut

What's a Karen hairstyle ?

It’s a short chopped bob, possibly with cheap highlights.

See here for examples:
knowyourmeme.com/memes/speak-to-the-manager-haircut

I don’t think there is any ONE Karen. Karen is the woman everybody hates. And since everybody’s idea of a detestible female is different, every “Karen” is different. Sometimes race and class play into that. But : she is always female. So I do think it’s misoginistic before racist or classist, (though the memes can have those things running through them as well)

I usually see it directed towards the working class in the way "Sharon ,/ Tracey" used to.

"The stereotypical 'Karen' behaves as she does because she is on a power trip. Her social class advantage has gone to her head. That is why she complains in restaurants and is rude to shop assistants."

I thought it was the menopause.

As an aside, I knew lots of women with the Karen haircut when I was younger, and they all terrified me.

Nancydrawn - Thanks for the attempt, but a lot of what you write just doesn't translate. In the UK we don't know what a Chevy Tahoe or wall decals are (or at least I don't?). We don't know the connotations of going to Cancun or bumper stickers.
We are two nations divided by a common language.
But you do recognise that the slur has a class element?

I'd never heard this term in my part of the US.
All the Karens I've know have been awesome!
However, my father's wife ticks all those boxes. I'm not sure what class was before she married my dad. But even as a young woman, I think she has always considered herself above and beyond.
Now I know her as a hopeless snob. [mad] The way she treats restaurant staff! I avoid going out to eat with them at all costs...
I'm wondering if she's gone into withdrawal over CV-19??
To me, all women like this will be s