Karen is a pejorative term used in the Western world for a woman perceived to be entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is considered appropriate or necessary.
The term may have originated as a meme on Black Twitter "used to describe white women who tattle on Black kids' lemonade stands".[1] It has also been described as originating with black women but having been co-opted by white men.[1][2][3] University of Virginia media researcher Meredith Clark said the idea of a white woman blacks needed to be careful around because she wouldn't hesitate to use her privilege at the expense of others "has always been there; it just hasn't always been so specific to one person's name. Karen has gone by different names. Back in the '90s, when 'Baby Got Back' came out, it was Becky."[1]
Another use of the term Karen as an internet meme dates to an anonymous Reddit user, Fuck_You_Karen, who posted rants denigrating his ex-wife Karen, whom he alleged had taken both his children and, later, his house during divorce proceedings. The posts led to the creation of a subreddit in 2017, r/FuckYouKaren, to both compile a narrative and share memes about the posts. Since Fuck_You_Karen deleted their account, the subreddit refocused to memes about the stereotype in general rather than one specific woman.[4][5]
The name Karen had negative connotations predating the Internet meme, the notable uses being Lorraine Bracco's depiction of Karen Friedman Hill in the 1990 film Goodfellas, and Amanda Seyfried's ditzy schoolgirl character in the 2004 film Mean Girls. Other noted uses of Karen as a joke punchline include Dane Cook's 2005 sketch "The Friend Nobody Likes" from his album Retaliation,[5] and a 2016 Internet meme regarding a woman in an advert for the Nintendo Switch console who exhibits antisocial behavior and is given the nickname "antisocial Karen."[4][6]
Comments
(Old Spike)
Where did that "Karen" joke come from?
(Site Moderator)
Karen is a pejorative term used in the Western world for a woman perceived to be entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is considered appropriate or necessary.
The term may have originated as a meme on Black Twitter "used to describe white women who tattle on Black kids' lemonade stands".[1] It has also been described as originating with black women but having been co-opted by white men.[1][2][3] University of Virginia media researcher Meredith Clark said the idea of a white woman blacks needed to be careful around because she wouldn't hesitate to use her privilege at the expense of others "has always been there; it just hasn't always been so specific to one person's name. Karen has gone by different names. Back in the '90s, when 'Baby Got Back' came out, it was Becky."[1]
Another use of the term Karen as an internet meme dates to an anonymous Reddit user, Fuck_You_Karen, who posted rants denigrating his ex-wife Karen, whom he alleged had taken both his children and, later, his house during divorce proceedings. The posts led to the creation of a subreddit in 2017, r/FuckYouKaren, to both compile a narrative and share memes about the posts. Since Fuck_You_Karen deleted their account, the subreddit refocused to memes about the stereotype in general rather than one specific woman.[4][5]
The name Karen had negative connotations predating the Internet meme, the notable uses being Lorraine Bracco's depiction of Karen Friedman Hill in the 1990 film Goodfellas, and Amanda Seyfried's ditzy schoolgirl character in the 2004 film Mean Girls. Other noted uses of Karen as a joke punchline include Dane Cook's 2005 sketch "The Friend Nobody Likes" from his album Retaliation,[5] and a 2016 Internet meme regarding a woman in an advert for the Nintendo Switch console who exhibits antisocial behavior and is given the nickname "antisocial Karen."[4][6]
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_(slang)
(Old Spike)
Bloody hell, it even made it to wikipedia, damn! Thanks mate!