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People Sick Of Entitled Women Are Posting These ‘Karen’ Jokes As Revenge For Their Behavior (40 Pics)
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.
#13
ZombieGirl 4 years ago
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
#14
#17
Freya the Wanderer 4 years ago
You have to judge each dog individually. However, there may be good reasons for dog weight limits. Just another reason to have cats instead.
#19
Freya the Wanderer 4 years ago
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.
#20
4 years ago
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
#22
Tracey Hirt 4 years ago (edited)
I’m so tired of hearing, “You just need to stop buying avocado toast and lattes, and then you can afford a house.”
#24
Kathy Baylis 4 years ago
And Death says, “Don’t worry Karen. You’ll be meeting him soon enough. No need to bring a sweater.”
#25
Michelle Muirhead 4 years ago
Crawling on their nipples to church only to turn into absolute hypocrites!
#29
Animal lover❤ 4 years ago
What do people have against gay people? Not to sound cheesy but love is love
#32
Carrie Henderson 4 years ago
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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What do you think ?
GirlFriday (featuring Pitbull) 4 years ago
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.
GirlFriday (featuring Pitbull) 4 years ago
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.
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Tina Hugh 4 years ago
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?
Tina Hugh 4 years ago
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.
Load More Replies...
GirlFriday (featuring Pitbull) 4 years ago
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.
GirlFriday (featuring Pitbull) 4 years ago
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.
Load More Replies... Tina Hugh 4 years ago
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?
Tina Hugh 4 years ago
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.
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