"Stop being a Karen"

[ValsCupcakes]

I heard this on Tuesday from a young, no more than 20, guy saying it to his girlfriend in the street in town.

Is this still going on? I'm out this afternoon at my friend's house. She is called Karen and is sick of it. I heard a woman phone into the radio too the other week saying her husband's satnav was an annoying female voice so he called it Karen.

As a woman I think what uou are saying is wrong. Initially it was those like in America white women who would be utter demented and racist and moan unreasonable and get jn people's business over shit nothing really. Maybe it's moved from that but I see what it means initially if its been misunderstood then that's wrong to

The way I understood Karen wasn’t to refer to women. It was (as other have said) referring to a middle aged privileged white woman who was racist, arrogant and antagonistic, acting like a twat to wait staff, coloured people, those that deemed “below” her. And it was behaviour that the world got sick of. And a lot of those twatty women were called Karen

"A lot of those twatty women were called Karen"

Wtf? You don't seriously believe that there is a genuine link between names and behaviour do you? That racist women are really likely to be called Karen? That is utterly asinine.

Regardless, I don't think the debate is about how the word was used when it originated in the US. It's about how it is currently being used in the UK. And it is currently being used as a generic misogynist insult, not to call out racists.

A wanker is simply to place one's penis in hand and have a tug.

It's an insult towards men. Only men have a penis.

There's insults on both flips of the coin.

If someone is a racist prick, call them one. And most of them weren’t called Karen, it’s just that was a popular name of the generation that these people were claiming were the prime candidates for the behaviour you state. Which is untrue of course. Karen was quite a popular name in the Jewish community, which is far larger in the USA as well.

You think women can't / don't masturbate?

Wanker is used about both sexes. Mainly men, maybe, but it isn't gendered in the way that e.g. bitch is.

Not on nearly the same scale. 90% of the time it's women

Rubbish

For the same reason I’d say a guy is a wanker for doing, it’s just slang and I don’t see the big issue. But clearly we disagree and I really don’t see the need to go back and forth on it with a stranger on the internet…

I tried to make a point earlier and used the word 'hysterical.' I was called a misogynist for using the word hysterical.

This is exactly what I mean about hysterical women. There is absolutely no excuse for the white women in this example quoted.
The women bursting into tears after being gently challenged by their easier behaviour are quite literally hysterical and pathetic.

I'm sorry your partner has to go through this. If only this reply got as much outrage as the people being so up in arms about the term 'Karen.'

On what bases? Watched too many fake TikToks of women being filmed shouting in restaurants?

By their racist behaviour**

Actually not.

Karen started from someone on Reddit bitching about his ex-girlfriend who was called Karen and it got stuck onto people like the racist arsehole woman in Central Park who threatened to call the police on a black birdwatcher ( Amy). Or the racist arsehole woman who called the police on black people barbecuing (Jennifer) or the racist arsehole woman who called the police on a black girl selling water without a permit (Alison). Personally I think "racist arsehole" is more effective works for both sexes and is easily translatable between UK English and US English.

Hop it with this absolute BS. An insult to all of us.

'On what bases? Watched too many fake TikToks of women being filmed shouting in restaurants?'

@LostTheMarble
I'm not the person who wrote that, but after working in a small independent coffee shop when I was in my teens, the absolute worst customers who would kick up a fuss, shout and scream, who were racist don't colleague, were middle class white women.

Women like those are the exact reason, rightly or wrongly, that the term was created.

Again I'm not condoning it as it is a nasty term. But I have no sympathy for the women who think their actions are exempt from being challenged, because they've been called a Karen.

I know sorry, I just wanted to get in on the fun of pulling nonsense statistics about anecdotal behaviour and confirmation bias out of thin air and making wild definitive statements about the behaviour of one of the sexes.

"Just slang"

I can think of a whole host of homophobic, racist, sexist, ableist words that are "just slang". It doesn't make them okay to use.

"Women like those are the exact reason, rightly or wrongly, that the term was created."

Nope. The word originated in the US to describe a specific type of racist white woman who weaponises her relative privilege against people of colour. Its original meaning had nothing to do with being rude in coffee shops.

Behaving like a racist arsehole doesn’t need a gendered insult.

There is no equivalent for a racist man.

It's insane - the people defending it don't even know where the word came from.

I still maintain that the original US meaning isn't really relevant though. In the UK, the word has taken on an entirely different meaning and usage.

So why not call them out appropriately

Calling them "Karen" is lazy and shows a lack of critical thinking skills

There is - it's a "gammon"

Do you think.. it could be more because it’s ageist and sexist? 🤔

My name is Karen and I'm married to a David. You don't see anything wrong with using our ACTUAL names to call out racists? Why can't you just call them racists. It's insulting and upsetting.

'Most mysoginists don't have a problem with describing a woman as a Karen.'

@Overbearingndn

Most women who are clued up about the term misogyny spell misogynist correctly when trying to prove their point.