Karen is a slang term typically used to refer to a middle-class white American woman who is perceived as entitled or excessively demanding.[1] The term is often portrayed in memes depicting middle-class white women who "use their white and class privilege to demand their own way".[1][2] Depictions include demanding to "speak to the manager", being racist, or wearing a particular bob cut hairstyle.[3] It was popularized in the aftermath of the Central Park birdwatching incident in 2020.[2]
The term has been considered pejorative by those who believe it is racist, sexist, ageist, classist, and controlling women's behavior.[3] The term has occasionally been applied to male behavior.[3][4]
During 2020, the term increasingly appeared in media and social media, including during the COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd protests.[1] The Guardian called 2020 "the year of Karen".[5]
'Karen' is associated with the kind of person who demands to 'speak to the manager' in order to belittle service industry workers, is anti-vaccination, and carries out racist micro-aggressions, such as asking to touch black people's hair. But a predominant feature of the 'Karen' stereotype is that they weaponise their relative privilege against people of colour - for example, when making police complaints against black people for minor or even - in numerous cases - fictitious infringements.
:10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).ATL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).The image of a white woman calling police on Black people put the lie to the myth of racial innocence