Karen
noun
| KAIR-un
Insulting term for a privileged, indignant, or discriminatory woman
What does Karen mean?
Karen is a slang term used to disparage a stereotypically middle-class, middle-aged white woman who rebukes or reports others in angry, sometimes racist public displays. More generally, it is an insult for anyone, though still typically a woman, who shows entitled behavior, especially in the form of outspoken complaints or intrusive criticism. Depending on context, it may be considered sexist.
Examples of Karen
A racist Karen was put on the no-fly list after harassing an Indian family.
—@CalltoActivism, X (formerly Twitter), 1 Dec. 2024
Kendrick Lamar's had our ears for all of 2024 and that has upset Drake to the point he's pulling Karen stunts.
—… when it comes to feigning outrage, no one clutches pearls like [Canadian politician] Pierre Poilievre, who took to social media faster than an upset Karen demands to speak with the manager.
—Apparently Mrs miserable next door, let's call her Karen, has complained about my music being too loud.
—
Where does Karen come from?
Karen is based on the female given name Karen. Evidence for its use as a humorous generic name for a woman dates back to at least the early 2000s, although the use of Karen to mock middle-aged women may be influenced by its popularity as a given name in the US around the 1960s. The name’s extension to racial contexts appears to develop specifically within African American English usage.
In the late 2010s, it spread in Internet jokes and memes as a stereotype for a suburban, middle-aged woman who wears a short haircut and rudely demands to speak to managers at retail establishments over trivial complaints. In the 2020s, following a number of viral incidents, it further spread as a term for a white woman who behaves (or is accused of behaving) in racist ways towards minority groups. One notable incident involved the so-called Central Park Karen, a white woman who called in a false police report on a Black man who asked her to leash her dog, in compliance with park rules, while he was birdwatching.
How is Karen used?
Karen is widely used to denounce real and imagined people (though especially white women) seen as acting in aggressively critical, self-centered, or discriminatory ways. Someone viewed as behaving in this way may be called a Karen (“That Karen refused to hand out Halloween candy to kids who didn’t live in the neighborhood”) or addressed as one (“We can’t move the line any faster just for you, Karen”). It is also sometimes used like an adjective, as in “It was a real Karen move to complain about the customer service like that.”
The term varies in tone and intent, from self-deprecating to derogatory. Because Karen is a gendered term, some consider it offensive and sexist, especially when it is applied to a woman simply for speaking up. Its male counterpart is sometimes referred to as Ken or Kevin, among other male given names, although Karen is increasingly directed at similarly obnoxious and entitled men.
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