To believe the team “Karen” isn’t misogynistic

[SummerAsh]

To start with… I don’t like the term. It can’t be pleasant if you are actually called Karen. And I don’t believe I’ve ever used it….

But I don’t see why it is misogynistic…. Unless someone says that all women are Karens. Some women are just insufferable, the same way some men are. Admitting this doesn’t make you misogynistic! And more than calling someone a Dick makes that person a misandrist.

Bandying the word “misogyny” around whenever anyone says anything that’s not completely complimentary about a woman just devalues the word, and makes it more difficult to call out real misogyny.

Can't stand it. The thing I REALLY hate is that no one can complain about being called a Karen without then 'being' a Karen.

Completely there to shut down older women.

I'm most familiar with Ken - He’s Karen’s equivalent partner in quasi-distress and his name is Ken.

You can say either thank you, I take that as a compliment or how clever of you to guess my name.

The only Ken I have heard of is Barbie’s boyfriend. Anyone else heard of Ken being used in the same way as Karen? Are you in America?

I've never once heard Ken being used in the same was as Karen. There is no widely used male equivalent to Karen.

Agree Ken is just Barbie’s boyfriend. Karen is a misogynistic and ageist slur used to shut down any older woman who dares to have an opinion about being treated like shit.

Nope, never heard any man being referred to as a ‘Ken’ in the same way that women are referred to as a ‘Karen’. Not once.

I'm not in America, but my algorithms are quite expansive I guess.

I don’t like it, and I think it’s a term only used by certain women. It doesn’t reflect well on them.

I haven’t seen it used to specifically shut down older women who are standing up for themselves.
I’ve seen it used to describe women who are acting in a superior, unreasonable and agressive manner to people they deem ‘lower than’ I.e retail workers or serving staff.
like the old clips of the women shrieking to easyJet staff because she’s gone to the wrong airport and they can’t magically whip up a flight for her - she would be called a Karen these days. Regardless of age.

They’re usually called it because they’re being obnoxious, overly opinionated and sometimes angry…. And they’re like that in situations when they’re not in the right, that’s why they need shutting down. Same as anyone acting like that regardless of age or sex

Barbies boyfriend Ken is thick as pig shit so it’s obviously an insult

If it’s regardless of age or sex, why aren’t they being called ‘Islas’ or ‘Jacobs’? The implication is quite clearly that it is women of a certain age who behave like that, hence the misogyny. Surely you can see that?

Except no one is habitually going round calling people ‘Ken’.

I think YABU. It's still misogynistic even if it is aimed at unpleasant women who need calling out.

Unfortunately, I most often hear it used by children (both boys and girls) aged 8-12. Many of them seem not to even know it is a name. They think it's a character/type of person (ie vampire, wizard, fairy, karen, pirate, toddler, clown, ballerina etc!). When I've challenged it, I've had one child tell me 'it's a type of witch' and another 'it means mean old lady'. I find it really worrying that they're using this misogynistic term unwittingly and even innocently. Not sure what they will think when they meet a woman whose actual name is Karen!

Yes, but the reason they would be called a ‘Karen’ (regardless of age) is because the assumption is that it’s usually women of a certain age who behave like that. Otherwise why would they be called Karens? If it had nothing to do with age or gender then they’d be called a Theo or an Ava, wouldn’t they?

It’s a derogatory stereotype, created in an age when we should know better. We don’t tell jokes about Irish men called Paddy doing stupid things any more. We don’t call clumsy people Spastic any more, or less intelligent people Mong.

So why have we created a name for middle aged and older women who complain about situations they’re not happy with?

Me too. On Facebook and on Next Door.

It’s not very pleasant. And totally played out. I cringe when I hear it.

I've never heard or read, before this thread, of anyone using Ken as an insult.

Perverts, manchild/manbaby/cocklodger, not sure what you mean about tribal hobbies but meatheads?

Wow ‘overly opinionated’. And angry? God forbid an older woman might have an opinion or be angry.

14th rule of misogny - Women have all the rights they need: The right to remain silent.

The term Karen is totally misogynistic op. The fact that you don’t even recognise it shows how insidious and ingrained misogyny is in society.

Depressing.

Its just another word for calling someone a dichead. Men get called dicks all the time nd the equivalent slang is a karen.

Why not just call women dicks/dickheads then @Greenmouldycheese ? Those are terms I would use if I wanted to say that a woman was behaving badly. Or twat, arse, bellend, wanker… Even cunt if they’re particularly heinous. I’d use those words for men, women and dogs. (I mean only if warranted; I’m not throwing them around willy-nilly).

Do you ever use the word ‘Karen’ for men? If not, why not? Why do women get a special word that can’t be used for men? The insults used for men can be used for women.

This!