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Original poster

The misogynistic and ageist slur ‘karen’

1 reply

Cursory · 20/04/2025 20:51

I see this cropping up on here on a reasonably regular basis. It’s an acknowledged ageist and misogynistic term for women over a certain age with an opinion.

Will MNHQ moderate it accordingly if it’s reported, the same way you do for other derogatory terms?

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MNHQ

BeckyAMumsnet · 22/04/2025 14:09

Hi and thanks all for sharing your thoughts on this.

We don’t currently have a blanket ban on the term, and as with many things context and intent really do matter. Where it’s used as a personal insult or clearly meant to demean, we’ll usually remove it, but we also try to avoid over-policing language, especially when a word however flawed has entered mainstream usage.

We completely understand why many posters feel uneasy about it. It’s a term that often trades on lazy stereotypes, and casual misogyny towards middle-aged women is, sadly, something many of us will recognise all too well. The good news is that on Mumsnet, unlike many other sites, we tend to see those stereotypes challenged (and challenged robustly!) by other MNers. We can only hope that it dies out before inevitably being replaced by something else.

As always, please report anything you think we need to see.

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