STOP calling people "a Karen"

[PaperwhiteTheFriendlyGhost]

Why are people so lazy and ignorant? Ironically they use it in some instances to berate someone for a perceived insult. Maybe this should be on Pedants' Corner, I don't know.

Intelligent input darling

Post that again, except use the name De'vonte or Mohammed. Still think it's ok?

Women’s names have been stigmatised for decades because of misogyny

Fixed that for you

I honestly judge anyone who uses Karen as being thick as fuck TBH.

Nobody is answering my question about racist stereotypes. Or the fact that it’s mostly men who are racist.

Funny that.

Not just women.

Tim, nice but dim.
Dave is a term used for boring men.
black women are dismissed as ‘Shaniquas’

Funnily enough no one speaks about racist tropes about black women on MN.

Lol. It's almost as if different countries have different cultures. Quelle Surprise!

And if you see a middle aged white woman with the I WANT TO SEE THE MANAGER haircut while working in retail you avoid her for your own wellbeing because you can safely assume she's going to be rude to you and who needs that in their day!

It's an opinion piece written by someone who is educated and knows what they are talking about and references many peer reviewed research papers. Stereotypes are part of human evolution and the way our brains and societies work. The fact that you don't like it doesn't make it a load of rubbish.

Good day!

Exactly.

If the shoe fits and all that…

Tim nice but dim was a character, it’s not used in the same way as Karen
Never heard Dave being used for boring men. People do not call men “Dave” to insult them.

Of course people speak about racist tropes on MN. But how is calling women a Karen helping anyone?

It’s used AS A slur as it’s become embedded in the collective cultural psyche as an embodiment of a particular negative stereotype.
”grow up” is such a cop out, lazy, ignorant comment.

Sums it up really!

Yes, and we're not America.

The name Karen has a different socio-economic connotation in the US than it does here. And racism is enacted differently in the US than it is here.

There is no justification for using a misogynist slur.

And if you see a young black man with the afro haircut while working in retail you avoid him for your own wellbeing because you can safely assume he's going to stab to you and who needs that in their day!

And if you see a middle aged brown man wearing a kirta while working in retail you avoid him for your own wellbeing because you can safely assume he's going to set off a bomb near you and who needs that in their day!

And if you see a woman with an Irish accent while working in retail you avoid her for your own wellbeing because you can safely assume she's going to steal stuff and who needs that in their day!

These phrases ok as well?

I use Karen and if it offends people they can avoid me which is absolutely my ideal outcome. No time for people who can't accept language evolution… and who's ego is so fragile that that they need to brand anything that calls out their awful behaviour as 'misogynistic' because they've no better argument.

I see "not my Nigel" used as an insult on a daily basis here.

The particular form of behaviour that "Karen" was originally coined to describe is an obnoxious one: it is specifically about a women who perceives herself to be superior in a hierarchy (to a Black person, to a member of staff, to a young person...) trying to flex that power.

I don't really care about the specific term "Karen" - it was coined by people who are younger and more American than me - but policing the evolution of slang terms is like pissing in the wind, really. The behaviour it describes will remain obnoxious regardless of what the term is. I'm happy to just call those people "entitled customers" or "racists" though.

I completely agree.

A 'Karen' isn't an insult to all women it's a label for a badly behaved woman who is usually of a similar appearance and age to one another.

As in a 'typical Karen'!

A handful of videos justifies a slur on an oppressed group?

Do you say the same for videos of black people behaving badly?

Or maybe you’re just a misogynist using “language evolution” as an excuse?

If a black person told you your words are offensive to them would you say “tough shit”?

Y I said earlier I just see people who use the term Karen as being thick as fuck

Calling a woman a Karen isn't 'calling out their awful behaviour ', it's just using a slur. If they're racist, call them a racist. If they're being unreasonable, call them unreasonable.

I did ask upthread but I'll try again: if a gay man calls me a P@ki, am I therefore justified in calling him a p0*fter? Is that me calling him out on his awful behaviour, and therefore he should just avoid me if he doesn't like it? Due to his fragile ego? Or is it only middle aged women who should accept being called a slur?

"As a Woman it doesn't bother me because I don't rage in public at service workers or random citizens."

To be honest I feel this way as well. I have no issue with it when it's being used as originally intended to call out racist out bullying or harassing behaviour but I do take issue when it's misused to call women out for what would be acceptable behaviour were they male. Similarly I take issue when it's applied to women with disabilities for acting/communicating/processing things differently. So for me it depends on the situation.

I see "not my Nigel" used as an insult on a daily basis here.

Aimed at women though. There is no stereotypical Nigel that I am aware of.

It's not a slur, you can pretend it is all you want, but it isn't. If it was a slur you wouldn't be allowed to name your child Karen on their birth certificate.

So its not women with bobs…