Reveal Your Uncool Conservative Beliefs Here

you can't argue about uncool conservative beliefs in here this is the oh never mind

i just think stereotypes aren't the way. it's not as if these terms are only being used by marginalized people or whatever. everyone online is gleefully saying women are annoying--oh i'm sorry, karens are annoying

This is one of those words where the directionality matters - it really depends on *who* is saying it.

"Karen" was invented by Black women to describe a very specific raced and gendered dynamic, where white women invoke white privilege over Black women, e.g. "demanding to speak to the manager, because they do not believe that a Black woman has authority". In these circumstances, it is not sexist, it is a useful tool describing a common power dynamic.

As soon as other people (most often cis white men) started using the term, it just became generalised to mean "any uppity white woman aspiring to authority that would go unnoticed in a white man". In this usage, yes, it is sexist, in fact it's not only sexist, but it's used by white men to point fingers at white privilege being something ~white women do~ to obscure their own white privilege.

It's complicated, but tl;dr - cis white men ruin everything.

vox points to a different origin for karen.

The “Karen” meme has multiple origins, each one using the idea in slightly different ways. But one of the most prominent uses developed on Reddit, thanks to a redditor known for posting amusingly bitter invectives about his ex-wife — posts so amusing, they inspired a high school student to make an entire subreddit, r/FuckYouKaren, devoted to turning his saga into a meme.

It does seem a little mean toward actual people named Karen.

it just became generalised to mean "any uppity white woman aspiring to authority that would go unnoticed in a white man"

that's a good point. is there an equivalent name for men who frequently ask to speak to the manager and that kind of shit?

they get called karen too now from what i have seen. branwell is good for taking the time to explain.

It does seem a little mean toward actual people named Karen.

I hope my sister never hears about it.

She is pretty uppity at the best of times.

*updates Karens in real life log*

I’ve never met a(n actual person named) Karen tbh.

the trend of calling middle-aged white women "Karen" is old fashioned sexism in the guise of intersectional wokeness

― treeship., Tuesday, May 5, 2020 6:31 AM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is more "reveal your joyless woke beliefs" here than anything

I know two Karens and they are both very nice and not like Karens at all.

they exist!

i will say that i think the worst outcomes for irl older Karens are:

1) they actually are "Karens", and they are forced to confront the idea that the kind of behavior being lampooned/criticized is so widespread that it has spread into a global meme that just happens to be attached to the name "Karen". a real humdinger for these irl Karens. they will endure long nights of the soul. (or not!)

2) people whose names are Karen, but in no way resemble the caricature of "Karen". for these poor Karens, they will have to endure the indignity of someone occasionally saying "Karen! ahaha! oops! not you Karen! ahah!". this reminds me of my childhood, when lots of people called me Zack the lego maniac, even though i didn't really have legos (more of a k'nex' guy myself). boy was that annoying!

My grade-school crush was a Karen! Branwell your post was succinct and perfect!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plRa2kz9k1c

It's only in the US anyway, Karens over here have nothing to worry about.

some of my best exes are karens : /

at least their name isn't slang for a toilet, i guess

i went to gradeschool with a Karen who grew up to be a "Karen" based on what I know about her.
i know a NYC based Karen who is not a Karen and finds it funny when people call her "Karen" derogatorily

i do wonder if there is a reverse correlation between "common white girl names from the 70s and 80s used to describe horrible white women in the contemporary era" and "common white girl names from the 70s and 80s that were used in popular songs from the era" ... like the Karens and Beckys dodged bullets growing up, avoiding being mockingly serenaded as children, unlike the poor Amandas, Sarahs, and Jennys ... and now, Karens and Beckys, it's your fucking turn!!

(I forget the Dianes ... sorry Dianes, you too had it rough in the 80s)

more of a specific instance, but never forget what Joe Blows went through. that wasn't fair to ya, Blows!

This thread has gone to the dogs. Why would you spend so much time discussing this name? You guys are a bunch of Karen tarriers.

and of course, above all, Joey Corona we are all thinking about you right now

i always worry about someone with my first and last name doing something awful and then the name becomes infamous

but re, this being a "humorless woke belief," i don't think so. i'm defending 'karens' against the scolding hoardes of wokes

I could re-write Nick Cave's "John Finn's wife" to be about you treesh

I never knew calling out sexism was a tenet of conservatism

i think the criticism, treesh, is that there are so many things jn the world that also aren't quite fair. the psychological damage to irl "karens" is probably pretty low on the list

or at least, that's my (mild) criticism

and of course, above all, Joey Corona we are all thinking about you right now

xp, well that's why i haven't started a national campaign to stamp out this prejudice. i just think it's a bit hypocritcal for progressives to fall in love with stereotypes about shrill women who complain too much.

i can see that, but also understand where it came from (see Branwell's post)

i hate people who speak down to service workers but it's not only women that do that

i don't think an unfunny stereotype helps, really. even if it's "punching up" sometimes. that's the conservative part of my post.

anyone have a cite for Branwell's etymology, the origins I see give the redditor complaining about his ex and a Dane Cook joke.

I have seen evidence that "Karen" has already made the jump from woke Twitterites to broke Facebook whites.

i hate people who speak down to service workers but it's not only women that do that

― treeship., Tuesday, May 5, 2020 10:58 AM (fifty-eight seconds ago)

you don't say???

i used to see it as Carols and then it mass stuck to Karens around the peak of all the videos of white women calling the cops.

i think we can all agree that stock jokes about "Carlos" would not be appreciated on the left

ppl have been using generic names as pejoratives for a long time and were using a few different old white ppl names for a while before it coalesced around 'karen' and got used much more widely. i have heard ppl use kevin and stephen and susan, almost anything works if you say it the right way, bc it's really all about tone

Really? I feel like BBQ Becky (et al) peaked at least a year (if not two) before Karen got coined

even just using people's actual name can be ironically disrespectful and cutting, there's a lot of grey area

Every Dick, Tom and Harry...

"barbecue becky" is at least alliterative. that one is approved.

There's different ones in different countries - not surprisingly.

i thought bbq becky was a leftover from becky with the good hair and it all segued from any old bland white name---> to karens.

the Karens and Beckys dodged bullets growing up

My friend Becky who was in middle school when "Baby Got Back" came out begs to differ!

all the white women calling the cops had alliterative nicknames. that was the idea. xpost

wait there was an actual "barbecue becky," a woman who called to complain about a black family barbecuing in a park. (charcoal grills weren't permitted in the park). her photo got out and got plastered all over memes. not sure how i feel about that.