Am I a Karen?

[Magnoliamarigold]

Currently in a debate with a 19 year old nephew about transgender issues.

I believe gender is a social construct. But:

I don't believe in puberty blockers for 10 year olds.
I'm currently on my third IVF cycle and for this reason I'm not convinced young people (over 18) should take hormone replacement therapy.

Been reliably informed this makes me a Karen. AIBU?

Your nephew needs to grow up.
Tell him to debate this with you again when he has a little more experience of the world.

@Positivelypatient if you read it you'll feel a bit stupid

@Positivelypatient

YABU for using the term Karen. I won't even bother reading your post.

Her nephew is calling her a Karen… it’s not her choice of word!

You are a woman with an opinion that he doesn’t agree with but rather than debate he has chosen to try to silence you with insults.

Which is very common. It usually means they know they can't argue rationally.

It doesn’t havent to make sense to me, no. Are you saying I shouldn’t be trying to see the sense in it? Should I never try and understand something I don’t understand if it’s about racism? You say educate yourself and then say it doesn’t have to make sense to me, the implication being that’s all the information you’re going to give me so I should stop asking. In other words- you are shutting down the conversation. When asked to explain your use of a term.

By all means educate yourself. What I mean is that educating you so that it makes sense to you is not my priority.

Calling the police to lie that a black person is attacking you less so.

It’s only women who do that, is it?

By all means educate yourself. What I mean is that educating you so that it makes sense to you is not my priority.

Nor should it be. It’s just that you used two term, so it stands to reason that you would be the obvious first port of call in my journey to understanding your choice of language.

Not two- the.

Nope, don't feel stupid @shouldistop .... its my actual name and Im just so fed up of seeing it used like this, even if its indirectly.

@MrsRobbieHart

By all means educate yourself. What I mean is that educating you so that it makes sense to you is not my priority.

Nor should it be. It’s just that you used two term, so it stands to reason that you would be the obvious first port of call in my journey to understanding your choice of language.

Nope, not my job. What do you mean by 'two term'?

Whoever has called you Karen can’t even use the term correctly. So I’d ignore anything they have to say.

This isn’t about racism, though. It’s about the way the ‘Karen’ meme is being used in a misogynistic way in the UK to shut down women (particularly middle aged women) who dare to have an opinion. This is definitely how the OP’s DN is using it!

My DD1 (12) has started using the meme. I ask her how she would feel if ‘Karen’ were to be substituted with her own name?

@Ereshkigalangcleg its ironic you'll use the derogatory term Incel but take offence at the term Karen.

Why are people saying this is misogynistic?

Surely women strongly dislike the perpetually offended social justice worrier types too?

The meaning attached to a word is whatever the majority thinks it means. Culture dictates definition.
Obviously I don’t know what the majority thinks ‘Karen’ refers to as I’ve never done a poll.

But I always thought it was a disparaging comment used to describe a female who holds an uneducated opinion… regardless of what about.

I think that’s because I saw a meme last year that depicted a newsroom and the title ‘we now go over to our resident Covid-19 medical expert, Karen from Facebook’

And yes, I think it is misogynistic.

Your views on sex v gender are V reasonable IMO.

Karen , Gammon, insulting names, intended to be insulting: not reasonable.

Behaviour designed to leverage white privilege: unreasonable (and worse, obv).

Teen boys insulting grown women on the basis of a different view: unreasonable (objectionable)

Nope, not my job. What do you mean by 'two term'?

Nope. Didn’t say it was your job. I explained why I asked you to explain the term you used.

Two was a typo, as explained in the post after. I meant ‘the’.

@SquirryTheSquirrel

'Karen' is a horrible misogynistic term. Anyone who uses it to shut women down is BU.

👆

@StiggyZardust

I wouldn't engage with anyone who called me "Karen".

And 👆

What is a Karen? Someone who weaponises their relative privilege against people of colour - for example, when making police complaints against black people for minor or even - in numerous cases - fictitious infringements

Not here in this country as used by teens and men.

And not in the context of the OP. The discussion (sic) was not about race. So….

Fancy returning to the post @Magnoliamarigold or are you just enjoying the fallout?

What is a Karen? Someone who weaponises their relative privilege against people of colour

But specifically female and middle aged.

Because no one else ever weaponises their privilege after all.

Whoever has called you Karen can’t even use the term correctly. So I’d ignore anything they have to say.

There is a proper way of using Karen? Unless that is to address someone actually called Karen, then WTF.

@MrsRobbieHart

Nope, not my job. What do you mean by 'two term'?

Nope. Didn’t say it was your job. I explained why I asked you to explain the term you used.

Two was a typo, as explained in the post after. I meant ‘the’.

I've answered your questions. You telling me 'it stands to reason that you would be the obvious first port of call in my journey to understanding your choice of language' implies that you think that it's my job, even if you don't say it.

its ironic you'll use the derogatory term Incel but take offence at the term Karen.

Because it's not a woman's actual name? The incel community is well known, it's what they themselves call themselves, and that level of woman hating has been associated with murder sprees and terrorism, so you can do one with your silly false equivalence.