chat

8412 readers

236 users here now

Chat is a text only community for casual conversation, please keep shitposting to the absolute minimum. This is intended to be a separate space from c/chapotraphouse or the daily megathread. Chat does this by being a long-form community where topics will remain from day to day unlike the megathread, and it is distinct from c/chapotraphouse in that we ask you to engage in this community in a genuine way. Please keep shitposting, bits, and irony to a minimum.

As with all communities posts need to abide by the code of conduct, additionally moderators will remove any posts or comments deemed to be inappropriate.

Thank you and happy chatting!

founded 3 years ago

MODERATORS

EmmaGoldman@hexbear.net

ZoomeristLeninist@hexbear.net

SexUnderSocialism@hexbear.net

Sulvy@hexbear.net

123

It's wild how "Karen" started out as calling out racism and now it's just a way for sexist people to shame women for not performing gender roles. (hexbear.net)

submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by Dirt_Owl@hexbear.net to c/chat@hexbear.net

67 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Good women are young, quiet, have pretty long hair (never dyed a unnatural colour though!) and never speak up about being mistreated, ever. You want to complain about a genuine problem? Sorry, you're a Karen. Ask people to social distance? Karen. Nicely tell people to please be quiet during a movie? Karen. Ripped off by corporate greed and want a refund? Karen.

Be silent, be feminine and behave, woman.

It sucks because it actually used to describe real harrassment that black service workers experience. Now it's just "Mouthy mom aged women with short dyed hair"

I've even seen a male black service worker be called a "male Karen" I shit you not.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] Carcharodonna@hexbear.net 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Obviously it morphed quite a bit but I feel like I remember this being the origin of “Karen”: https://amp.knowyourmeme.com/memes/nintendo-switch-karen

[–] tocopherol@hexbear.net 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

There were uses in the same vein before that, from wikipedia:

For the term "Karen", several possible origins have been proposed.[11] Early uses of Karen as a joke punchline include the airheaded character Karen (played by Amanda Seyfried) from the 2004 film Mean Girls, Dane Cook's 2005 sketch "The Friend Nobody Likes" on his album Retaliation,[12]

I remember at the time the Dane Cook special that had this joke was super popular, I heard people quote the joke before the term became as widespread.

[–] sleeplessone@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 days ago

Dane Cook

You've just unlocked bad memories of the aughts.