Everyone knows what a Karen is. Or do they? It wasn’t until viewer discussion about a somewhat controversial segment on TYT last night that I started to think about how Karen is, or should be, defined.
This is the question that came up: since at least some people associate being a Karen with white women, could referring to people as Karens be considered as racist or sexist? I think it’s a complicated issue, but after looking into things and reflecting on it more, I don’t have the impression that most people mean it that way.
I would argue that Karens did originally refer to well-to-do white women who felt and acted entitled, like whatever they wanted is the way things should be, and anyone who got in the way of that would feel their self-righteous wrath (verbally or physically). Like the adult version of being spoiled, except much louder and meaner.
Here’s the most popular definition on Urban Dictionary, which basically confirms what I think the original definition probably was. This was posted on there June 1, 2020, coincidentally almost exactly three years ago from when I’m posting this.
It doesn’t specifically mention that Karens are “white”, but does mention they’re “typically blonde,” which I take to be a naturally-blonde white woman (although you can correct me if I’m wrong).
I’ve used the word Karen occasionally online. I checked and I’ve tweeted “Karen” about a dozen times. The few times I specified a specific trait, I painted Karens as “racist” “anti-vaxxers” and “Republican woman.”
But if you asked me what Karen means now, I’d say it refers to any adult of any gender or race who acts that way, especially if they’re a MAGA conservative or appear to act like one. They might be anti-LGBTQIA+, or racist, or antivax, but I wouldn’t say it’s exclusive to those groups.
I also wouldn’t say it’s exclusive to women. Just by googling it I see results for thousands of discussions related to male Karens, including articles from well-known publications (Vox, etc.) discussing for example what to call male Karens: Chads, Kyles, Steves, or other names. There’s also discussion of whether or not these different names are just male versions of Karen or if they have other traits (Dictionary.com suggests Chads are muscular and successful).
On the popular segment “I Wish a Karen Would”, on TYT’s Indisputable with Dr. Rashad Richey, the intro sequence includes both women and men. I’d say the men are as prominently featured, if not more so, than the women, because the audio has a loud, obnoxious man near the middle. So I think Karen has expanded beyond just referring to women.
Here’s an example of a male Karen who was featured a few months ago on Indisputable: a customer who was upset at a repair shop worker because the customer thought dry white rice should have fixed his water-damaged phone.
So if Karens don’t have to be women, then the next question is, does Karen only refer to white people? I’ve occasionally seen people online use it to refer to other races, in particular black people. But the impression I’m getting is that I’m in the minority of people who don’t consider it to be based on race: it generally refers to white people.
And to be clear — a word being used to refer to people of a certain race does not necessarily mean it’s racist (I’ll come back to this point shortly), but it does seem like Karen is applied mostly to white people.
There was an Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times by writer and filmmaker Pamela K. Johnson titled “Am I a Black Karen?” where she recounts that she was accused by her Facebook friends of being a Karen for complaining about how much noise a delivery truck was making in her neighborhood. Johnson definitely associates being a Karen with being a white racist woman.
Karen, as you may have heard, is a term typically applied to a white woman who calls the police on Black people, for such transgressions as falling asleep in a dorm at Yale, holding a picnic in a public park or — more ominously in the case of a Black birdwatcher in Central Park — asking that she put her dog on a leash. That video, which went viral, shows her on the phone with New York City authorities falsely claiming that the man was threatening her. […]
What I did not say in my response is that a person flagging a potential noise violation is not the same as a white person calling the cops on a Black person for no reason. As a Black woman in this society, I don’t have what it takes to be a Karen. But I can call out problems that concern me: illegal dumping, graffiti or a dangerous intersection that needs better signage. […]
So-called Karens — apologies to those who unfairly share the name — make a community worse by weaponizing race and using police to further their agenda. I speak out to enhance my neighborhood. That’s not being a Karen. That’s called being a citizen.
Based on this, and other anecdotal evidence I’m finding online, I do think Karen is mostly perceived as referring to someone who is white, and more often than not, a woman. But does that mean white people should feel offended by the term?
I would argue not. When someone who is acting in a racist way or holds racist beliefs is called a white nationalist, I’m not offended personally. I’m also not offended when someone with racist beliefs is called a Nazi, even though that term is almost exclusively applied to white people. I don’t identify with that worldview, so when someone calls a racist person a Nazi, I don’t take it as some sort of bias against me.
Men are sometimes referred to as misogynists. This word is almost exclusively used to refer to men. The term “toxic masculinity” is also commonly used, although the exact meaning of that could also be debated. But it doesn’t offend me when either term is used because I don’t associate with those worldviews and behaviors. If you called me a misogynist, or said that all men are misogynists (again, I don’t remember anyone ever saying that) or that everything people who identify as male do is toxic, then I would object to that.
So getting back again to Karen — I am a white male. I do not claim to be able to decide what does or doesn’t offend someone who is a white woman, or anyone else for that matter. But I don’t think the term Karen is meant as an attack on all white women.
It’s a term to refer to someone (often white and female, but not exclusively so) who acts like the world should revolve around them. They feel entitled, behaving in an abusive or inconsiderate way verbally or physically as if they’re superior to other people. They generally act this way towards others because they are bigoted when it comes to other people’s race, perceived gender or sexual orientation, or other aspects of their identity that the Karen feels makes the other person inferior, and who should therefore do what the Karen wants.
If you don’t feel like that describes you, and no one is personally calling you a Karen, then my take on it is that it’s not referring to you. It’s not someone intentionally, or even unintentionally, being biased against you. That doesn’t mean I think you, or anyone else should start using the word Karen. But it also doesn’t mean that other people can’t use it.
I share a lot of the sentiments you did here. I feel it’s beyond just referring to a white woman. Honestly my take on it is that it originally referred to privileged white women escalating minor inconveniences and made them into major issues often times asking to speak to a manager to get a retail or service worker in trouble.
Now I think that it refers to people of all colors, gender or sexual orientation coming from a point of privilege blow up over minor issues especially trying to management or cops involved where they don’t need to be.
I won’t hold anything against people that use the term, I think it’s just captured a phenomenon that has swept our nation and it calls it out.
I just feel bad for good folks named Karen. lol