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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.

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."

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Lisa Chambers
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

*Looks at hands* I think I am more of a remoulade color, if we are going for condiments here.

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M Kate McCulloch
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Honestly... I'd read that book. Just so I could read it aloud and laugh my a*s off. But seriously, when I want to write a POC into one of my stories, how can I ask my friends for guidance? I mean... how do I ask?

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Dilly Millandry
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What guidance do you need? Some detail about the character's background in the same way you would do for anyone POC or not should be sufficient to introduce them. Then leave them to the reader's imagination. The point being made is that physical description is not constantly needed. If you need cultural information then research it or ask someone from that culture for more information. If your intent is to get facts right then why would a friend mind?

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Viviane
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Love it! I have a white friend who mentions the race or ethnicity of any non-white person she encounters regardless of whether or not it's relevant to her anecdote (it rarely is).

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Summer Woodsong
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Excellent!! We were just discussing this the other day. Why do authors feel compelled to constantly remind us a character is a person of color? I'd be mayo with a touch of mustard,, Maybe we could use pantone color numbers? Oh, common!! People are people, what they do, how they act, what they bring to the game is what's important!!

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Grumble O'Pug
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

BTW Jane Austen only describes physical features three times in P&P. And don't get me started on the f*****g weather. OMG! Authors writng meteorology reports to set a scene need help

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SciFi Vortex
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So it's the pointing out of a colour of something (skin in this case) that you have a problem with. Got it. But you nheed to improve your vocabulary. "Alabaster" is the usual word to describe smooth white skin, not "mayonnaise". I'm afraid your recist hatred of white people is showing. Oops!

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Stille20
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Mayonnaise colored hands is not like saying coffee colored skin. Coffee has a warm rich connotation.

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Up All Night
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Human lips are strange if you think about it. Animals rarely have their lips turning outward like ours, if they do, it's usually freakish sight. Sorry for being off topic.

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Nothanks L. Walk
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That woman is clearly an imbecile. Not even a frozen corpse with jaundice would be the colour of mayonnaise.

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Dorothy Parker
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are some authors who seem to think they're being so open minded in their descriptions, but like this, are horrible. Yes, we know the character is a person of color. Spare us the vivid descriptors.

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Grumble O'Pug
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one is so f*****g great, why isn't it higher??? I am so tired of "honey", "chocolate" , "almond", "latte", "coffee", etc., it isn't even funny

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Chloe Reese
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2 years ago

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Chloe Reese
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2 years ago

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Wendy Christopher
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well I scored 3 out of 5 on that one! (I'm not called Karen, and I have no need to speak to a manager, but the rest all checks out.)

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daniel280456
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you don't have POC in your book, why ? If you do, they're not presented correctly. If you don't have LGBTQ characters, why ? If you do, they're not presented correctly.

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daniel280456
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3 years ago

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ARB
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This would be #1 on the NYT bestsellers list in a heartbeat!

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Analyn Lahr
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One of the best pieces of writing advice is: write what you know. If you don't know it, research the hell out of it at the very least.

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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!'”

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Tina Hugh
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’ve given myself insulin shots in public and have never had anyone say anything. My stereotype of white women is that they wouldn’t notice and if they did, their first impulse would be to, if anything, help and comfort me.

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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.

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I zzi
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Best Karen ever...seems like she can educate the herds

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Hans
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The problem is not considering equations as a foreign language. The problem is considering a foreign language to be something bad.

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ZombieGirl
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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

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I zzi
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh how the every person in the world wishes they were a oppressed, marginalised group....do they think it's cool?

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Freya the Wanderer
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You have to judge each dog individually. However, there may be good reasons for dog weight limits. Just another reason to have cats instead.

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Freya the Wanderer
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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.

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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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

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Ami Temi
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

OMG! I feel like desinfecting the whole house with bleach after reading so much hatred. I can't even find the right words to describe how this makes me feel. I really hope Karma will teach her a lesson!

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Tracey Hirt
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’m so tired of hearing, “You just need to stop buying avocado toast and lattes, and then you can afford a house.”

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𝕏𝕩ℝ𝕠𝕤𝕖𝕩𝕏
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I want to cry this Is hilarious. I lost it at 1 am. My parents came to my room to ask if I’m ok.

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Kathy Baylis
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And Death says, “Don’t worry Karen. You’ll be meeting him soon enough. No need to bring a sweater.”

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Ami Temi
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Good reaction! The nerve this talentless, useless idiot has! That whole family is just too much...

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Stille20
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hate that people Christmas shop on Thanksgiving. People didn't use to shop on Thanksgiving because the stores weren't open.... but chain owners are greedy.

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Carrie Henderson
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's a great cartoon. Would be so much better without the massive sexism (and no, I'm not talking about Karen here).

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depicus
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The irony was certainly lost on her but when our political elite do the same what can you say !!!

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