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People Sick Of Entitled Women Are Posting These ‘Karen’ Jokes As Revenge For Their Behavior (40 Pics)
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Life can be tough if you’re named Karen—the internet now associates this name with some women who are entitled and want to speak to everyone’s managers. Keep in mind that the term 'Karen' isn't meant to insult all women; it's used to poke fun at super-entitled problematic people. The Karen meme is the female equivalent of the Kyle meme and you can check out our post about the times that the internet destroyed fragile masculinity right here. Now, we know that most women named Karen out there are probably awesome people in real life, but the name has become a part of internet and meme culture.
The ‘Eff You Karen’ subreddit is one of the places that is dedicated to “the hatred of Karen” as they put it. We’re not fans of hating other people, you can’t deny that this online community makes some hilarious Karen content. We’ve collected some of the best Karen memes, so scroll down, upvote your faves, and check out the ‘Eff You Karen’ subreddit when you have the chance.
Bored Panda reached out to Matt Schimkowitz, Know Your Meme's Senior Editor, and spoke with him about Karen memes, and how some people find them offensive and insensitive to women. "As [the meme] grows from a parody of a common social experience of someone demanding to speak to a manager to a statement about white privilege, the stakes over the meaning of the meme grow as well. So I think that users of the meme should be cognizant that what they're meme-ing might not be their intent anymore. It's very possible that the meme could grow even farther to exhibit misogynistic tendencies, which are somewhat already present." Scroll down for the rest of our interview with Matt.
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Some people have even stated that Karen memes allegedly promote so-called 'incel culture.' However, Know Your Meme's Senior Editor Matt doesn't believe that this is the case. "I don't think statements about white privilege necessarily align with most of that philosophy. I could see those with sexist beliefs using Karen as a catchall for all women, which is where things get really ugly and suddenly 'Karen,' a meme we all enjoyed and used with abandon is connected to something many would find offensive," he said.
Matt pointed out that most meme humor has a certain level of maliciousness to it. It's an inbuilt 'feature' of memes, in other words. "Meme-ing can be nihilistic artform and rewards really ugly behavior in some cases. Sometimes, what starts as a fairly inoffensive meme can grow into something really hateful, like Pepe the Frog. I could see that happening to Karen—though, I'm not really sold one way or the other on the debate."
He continued: "Personally, because I'm kind of iffy on the intent of the meme and where it's going, I probably wouldn't call someone a Karen or use the Karen meme, judging the trajectory of its meaning. The meme's meaning will change depending on who is meme-ing it and what their intent is, and that could alter how we all view Karen. As I tell most people, you should always meme with caution. These images, nicknames and jokes frequently have unknown origins and could be connected to some really hateful areas of the internet."
Matt said that it's been hard to pin down the exact origin of the Karen meme. However, he personally thinks that the most convincing origin story is Dane Cook's 2005 comedy special bit "The Friend That Nobody Likes" which names Karen as the friend no one likes. "This is one of the earliest examples that we have to using a specific name to stand in for a whole type of person, and it's a comedic trope that we've seen dozens of times over the last 15 years," Matt stated his position.
“Every group has a Karen and she is always a bag of douche," Cook said during his stand-up routine. “And when she's not around, you just look at each other and say, 'God, Karen, she's such a douchebag!'”
One alternative theory is that it all started with the hit 2004 movie Mean Girls (I still rewatch it every year) which had the ditzy and insensitive character, Karen Smith. This sparked the ‘Oh My God, Karen, You Can’t Just Ask Someone Why They're White’ meme and things snowballed from there.
Another theory about the so-called rise of Karen states that things got started with the character Karen from 1989’s Goodfellas.
Yes, very true! One restaurant I worked at...the managers would schedule you on Sunday as a punishment, lol. Like if you were late too many times, they wouldn't fire you, they would schedule you double shifts on Sundays for like a month or so. Sunday crowds are the worst
You have to judge each dog individually. However, there may be good reasons for dog weight limits. Just another reason to have cats instead.
A lot of "pro-lifers" are consummate hypocrites. They mightily protect embryos and fetuses, but don't give a rat's butt about children who have been born.
karens find every way possible to be mean to others and make a big deal out of their small mistakes but dont care when they or their kids do some thing ten times as bad
I’m so tired of hearing, “You just need to stop buying avocado toast and lattes, and then you can afford a house.”
And Death says, “Don’t worry Karen. You’ll be meeting him soon enough. No need to bring a sweater.”
Crawling on their nipples to church only to turn into absolute hypocrites!
What do people have against gay people? Not to sound cheesy but love is love
It's a great cartoon. Would be so much better without the massive sexism (and no, I'm not talking about Karen here).
Note: this post originally had 92 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
This entire Karen thing started as way to make fun of the over-reacting, outraged middle aged woman that was calling the police for children having a lemonade stand. Now, any time a woman expresses an opinion or has a request, like extra napkins, she is labeled as a "Karen". It is sexist, rude, and insulting. Yeah, I get the joke that this started out to be, but it has evolved into a hatred of women in general. My mother, who would never harm a fly, is 70 years old and was called Karen in Target yesterday for asking for a receipt.
Yes, it is stupid.
Absolutely agree. Apparently I'm a Karen because I would like to sleep at 3 am. (Neighbours party several times a week, screaming at the top of their lungs and playing music so loudly that I can hear it through my earplugs)
Got an idea from a reddit video. If they are awake at 3 in the morning, means they wake up late. Just program your stereo to blast music when you go to work till noon. Full volume. I suggest a Cotton Eye Joe loop.
That's so not fair! I'm also a 21 year old Karen too apparently because I decided to leave a group of friends early when they invited over more people than what was allowed in our part of the world to deal with coronavirus regulations...
Never called the police, just asked them to be quiet. Police doesn't give a shit, sadly.
Sorry about that, hope they are not that shitty neigbours now.
Have you called the police? Is that why they call you Karen? Shitty neighbours u have, really
I LOVE that you said this! Been thinking about that myself lately and was wondering if I was the only one! Glad this is becoming realized so much. I deal with WAY more angry entitled men than women at my job, and that's not to say we should insult men next, but just simply that this rude and sexist insult for women having opinions needs to stop!
I"m ok wirh the Karen concept, the original one, but people just using it randomly is plain stupid.
The problematic behavior is entitlement. Also from people calling anyone a Karen because they don't feel they actually need to be confronted with their behavior (say playing loud music at 3 am, acting as if giving out a receipt is too much trouble etc). Stereotype Karen feels she is entitled to acting awful when no wrong was done. The post was funny, but I agree with GirlFriday that memes are crossing over to daily life and misused in a hurtful manner. On the other hand, when people do it, it's easy to understand they are idiots.
You’ve definitely won an upvote from me! The same people who are fighting for the BLM movement (racial equality for life!) are unfortunately also some of the ones generalizing people as “Karens.” I get that it’s a little harder to spot the prejudice, but we really should respect everyone unless they’ve really proved they don’t deserve it!
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The same thing happened with mansplaining.
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Shut up, Karen.
Max West ?
Max West +
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Maybe ask Bored Panda to let them talk to their manager.
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sexist?lmao foh karen
I sincerely feel sorry for those who named Karen 😅
My boss is named Karen. She is the best person that I have ever worked for in my entire life and I feel bad for her because of this meme.
I feel bad for the people named Karen that have to deal with this, too. This article stated that "Keep in mind that the term 'Karen' isn't meant to insult all women; it's used to poke fun at super-entitled problematic people", yet it's still singling out anyone named Karen. I'm seeing more and more comments from people named Karen that are just very done with this meme, not that they simply don't have a sense of humor of it, but that they are getting bullied due to Karen culture. Most come from genuinely nice Karens, too. This article is just doing more harm than good.
My boss is also a Karen, but completely nothing like a Karen (although she does read the Dail Mail and voted for Brexit because she believed the side of a bus...so maybe there's a bit of Karen in my Karen after all)
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I get insulted at work. Most of the time I don’t even interact with people. They see my name tag, and walk by saying Karen insults. Some of the memes were funny, but it’s crossed a line to demeaning, bullying and when you hear it several times every day, you’re constantly having your self worth chipped away by strangers telling you how awful you are and the only thing they they know about you is your name. Anyone using a real name as an insult is a bully - because a real person out there hears you and some are taking it personally.
I knew this would be a Jonas article as soon as I read the headline. 89 stereotypes to inflame hatred against women. Am I a Karen for expressing an opinion about this?
To be fair, most of Jonas’ articles here are excellent and I’m glad there was some discussion of the incel tie-in. We disagree on the Karen subject. I am against the Karen meme because for me it represents hatred of women. Other people with other backgrounds will naturally have other opinions.
I'm thoroughly sick of the Karen meme. It's overused and is disparaging to the subject matter that it is supposedly highlighting. It assumes it's always women and so is a sexist as you can get. Also it must be immensely frustrating to anyone called Karen - I say we stop supporting articles that use it. I for one have not read this article and will not be reading any that perpetuate this meme.
I'm with you on this. I've never met any Karen, but I've never liked stereotypes.
Yes, if there were all these memes about, say, a "Chad" or whatever the male equivalent is? There'd be incels downvoting and ranting. But if we say, "OK, enough, not all women with that haircut are Karens", we're somehow too sensitive. *sigh*
Jonas is a irrelevant in every way
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we found the karen :)
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Apparently the joke is a bit too far over your head. Maybe you’d like to speak to the manager...?
Hardly over anyone's head. If anything it's dragging along the floor with the oversimplified and crass usage.
This entire Karen thing started as way to make fun of the over-reacting, outraged middle aged woman that was calling the police for children having a lemonade stand. Now, any time a woman expresses an opinion or has a request, like extra napkins, she is labeled as a "Karen". It is sexist, rude, and insulting. Yeah, I get the joke that this started out to be, but it has evolved into a hatred of women in general. My mother, who would never harm a fly, is 70 years old and was called Karen in Target yesterday for asking for a receipt.
Yes, it is stupid.
Absolutely agree. Apparently I'm a Karen because I would like to sleep at 3 am. (Neighbours party several times a week, screaming at the top of their lungs and playing music so loudly that I can hear it through my earplugs)
Got an idea from a reddit video. If they are awake at 3 in the morning, means they wake up late. Just program your stereo to blast music when you go to work till noon. Full volume. I suggest a Cotton Eye Joe loop.
That's so not fair! I'm also a 21 year old Karen too apparently because I decided to leave a group of friends early when they invited over more people than what was allowed in our part of the world to deal with coronavirus regulations...