Slang dictionary
Karen
°ÚĚýkair-in ]
şÚÁĎÍř does Karen mean?
Karen is a slang term often used to describe a middle-aged women who is perceived as obnoxious, angry, and entitled, particularly in situations involving public interactions.
The stereotype associated with Karen is often a women with a blond bob haircut who frequently asks to speak to retail and restaurant managers to voice complaints. It is also sometimes linked to anti-vacccination views and stereotypes of Generation X’s parenting style.
Starting in 2020, Karen also became used as a label in viral videos and social media posts highlighting people confronting others in a public setting, especially in relation to race.
Where does Karen come from?
Karen joins an internet trend, started in the 2010s, of using a first name to make fun of certain kinds of people. A Becky, for example, is a stereotype for a “basic” young, white woman, while a Chad, in other corners of the internet, is stereotyped as a cocky, young “dudebro.”
But why the name Karen? Karen has widely been credited to Black Twitter in the 2010s. Another suggestion is that it comes from a 2005 bit by Dane Cook called “The Friend Nobody Likes.” (The friend was named Karen.) An additional explanation is that it stems from the character Karen in the 2004 film Mean Girls, who’s the subject of this popular quote: “Oh, my God, Karen, you can’t just ask someone why they’re white.” It’s also been put forth that Karen comes from the even earlier 1990 film Goodfellas, in which one of the characters is named Karen.
şÚÁĎÍřever the origin of the slang, the name Karen is popularly thought of as a name for a middle-aged white woman of a certain generation. ,Ěý°˛ą°ů±đ˛ÔĚýwas indeed the fourth most popular name for newborn girls in the 1960s, peaking at No. 3 in 1965.
Record of the insult Karen appears as early as September 2016 when a Tumblr user joematar made fun of a promo for Nintendo Switch in which a white woman (appearing to be in her late 20s or early 30s) brings the gaming device to a party. The user refers to this supposed kill-joy as Karen: “Oh shit, Karen brought her stupid Nintendo thing to the party again. We’re DRINKING, Karen. We’re having CONVERSATIONS.”
The imagined persona of Karen was further developed in December 2017 in a subreddit that had parallels to Cook’s “The Friend Nobody Likes” bit. Common tropes associated with Karen depict her as a middle-aged, suburban, minivan-driving, white, divorced mother with primary custody of her sons. She is frequently portrayed as voicing complaints and has a distinctive “speak to the manager” haircut.
This haircut is a short, angled blond bob, sometimes called a “mom haircut.” “Speak to the manager” refers to situations where someone escalates complaints or demands by asking retail or restaurant workers if they can speak to their managers — a stereotypical behavior of Karen. The “Speak to the manager haircut” meme has been around since 2014. In September 2018, the “Speak to the manager haircut” meme merged with Karen when it was uploaded to the Karen subreddit by a user named vidoardes.
Beginning in at least 2017, Karens have been closely associated with Baby Boomers. Some millennials and members of Generation Z have criticized Baby Boomers for holding views they perceive as closed-minded and outdated, particularly when it comes to gender, sexuality, and youth culture. One example frequently referenced in this context is the viral “Kidz Bop Karen” video, which captured a road confrontation involving a woman described as being a Karen.
In early November 2019, an online joke began spreading that depicts Generation X as the Karen Generation (the name being associated with people born between 1964–85). This came on the heels of OK boomer, a slang phrase (and viral phenomenon) dismissing opinions and attitudes associated with Baby Boomers (especially white male members of this generation). This prompted some reporters to investigate intergenerational conflict on social media further. BuzzFeed ran a piece on November 14, called “Gen Z is Calling Gen X ‘The Karen Generation’,” citing some activity on Twitter and TikTok.
13yo: Ok, boomer.
Me: For the last time, I'm Gen X. Your insults have no power over me.
13yo: Ok, Karen.
That was a bit low.
— Shannon Carpenter (@HossmanAtHome)
Karen further spread in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic and protests for racial justice. White women in viral videos — engaging in what was criticized as selfish or racist behavior — were labeled as Karens. The mayor of Las Vegas, for example, was called a Karen when, in a TV interview, she pushed to reopen casinos without social distancing despite warnings otherwise. Another notable instance was “Central Park Karen,” the epithet for a white woman who called the police on a Black man who was birdwatching in the Manhattan park, falsely accusing him of threatening her.
Also in 2020, online discussions explored the name for the male equivalent of Karen. Many people suggested commonly used names associated with Baby Boomers or Generation X, such as Richard,ĚýKevin, and Ken. However, no single male equivalent gained widespread usage (many simply refer to men as “male Karens”). Some commentators said they believe this lack of a male equivalent name reflects underlying gender stereotypes. Related discussions also considered whether Karen should be regarded as a slur because of gender stereotypes, but many dismissed this concern, arguing that it overlooks issues of systemic inequality and privilege. Karen remains a very loaded, complex slang term that continues to evolve.
During summer 2020, the term Karencore gained some traction as an ironic “appreciation” of the unique fashion and aesthetics (-core) often associated with the Karen stereotype. Karencore includes things such as the “speak to the manager” haircut, minivans, rhinestones, “Live, Laugh, Love” posters, and Spotify playlists consisting of 2000s-era pop/pop-rock songs.Â
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Examples of Karen
Who uses Karen?
Karen, with her “speak to the manager” haircut often prominently figured, is used in memes and on social media to portray someone others perceive as ignorant or difficult. Increasingly, Karen has become more generally used to insult white women accused of taken advantage of their white privilege.
Example targets have included women who complain to retail staff or waiters, or women who call anywhere they work (like the beach) their “office.”
Karen is often used as a stand-in name in an imagined dialogue. For example: “Mind your own business, Karen.”
Karen may also be used to call out older adults who some perceive as having narrow-minded viewpoints.
Because Karen is a stereotype of a woman of a certain age, some may consider it offensive, sexist, or ageist … or Karen-ist.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of Karen like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of Karen that will help our users expand their word mastery.