Fluther: Do you know anyone named Karen who has changed her name ...

Do you know anyone named Karen who has changed her name to get away from the stigma?

Asked by Jeruba (55832

) August 15th, 2021
18 responses
“Great Question” (4

)

In the U.S., the use of the name Karen has become a common epithet signifying white privilege, wounded white privilege, and more specifically wounded female white privilege, attaching to a woman whose claims of entitlement draw mockery and criticism to her.

As a name for newborns, Karen peaked as third in popularity in 1965. This means that there is a large population of Karens in the U.S. who are in their mid-fifties now.

Do you know anyone with the given name Karen who, as a reaction against this stereotyping of her name as obnoxious, bossy, and aggrieved, has chosen to adopt a new name or use, say, a middle name to avoid the jokes and wisecracks that are bound to come her way?

If you can see it, there’s an interesting article on the Karen phenomenon here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/t-magazine/white-women-karen.html

Follow this question

Send to a friend!

Topics: names, stereotypes, entitlement, privilege, white privilege, Karen

Observing members: 0

Composing members: 0

Answers

No, but my daughter is named Becky, and she has considered changing her name due to pop culture references.

filmfann (52231

)“Great Answer” (0

)

I have a good friend named Karen, and to my knowledge she has no plans to change. She isn’t like that at all, and she has never mentioned any aspersions being tossed at her.

Nomore_lockout (7592

)“Great Answer” (0

)

I have a feeling my mom has no idea her name is being used that way.

I take real issue with using the name Karen like this. I take issue with name calling in general and also with characterizing women as bossy or obnoxious, because so often women are not being heard and have didn’t a life time trying to be heard when they are the ones who had very legitimate concerns.

My mom was born in the early 40’s by the way, and almost every Karen I know was born in the 40’s and 50’s, except for one of my classmates, and we were born in the late 60’s.

Using Karen as an offensive term feels the same to me as when people say women have to smile and men don’t, and women are bitches for voicing an opinion or trying to make a situation more just. Most women live a life of Chinese torture (is that expression not allowed anymore?) especially generations born before 1980.

I can’t help but wonder what they will turn my name into. My real name was very popular when I was born. So far I think my name has evaded a stereotype, but maybe I’m just unaware.

JLeslie (65421

)“Great Answer” (1

)

I feel as though most people (will) understand that not all women (or men; Darren/Kevin/Ken) that are named Karen are white, entitled, privileged, and/or wounded.
It all started with such a character, who acted in a despicable way, whose name was Karen.
But nowadays it has evolved, in my opinion, to be more of a character description.
Like there are douchebags, and hillbillies, and what have you.
The only difference with most of the latters; this time it got a first name attached to it.

rebbel (35549

)“Great Answer” (2

)

@rebbel Is it a white thing? Funny, my classmate I mentioned born in the 60’s is Black. The other women I know are white though.

JLeslie (65421

)“Great Answer” (1

)

@JLeslie: It is a white thing.

I read the article posted by the OP yesterday, (before this question was posted), and they talked about various videos that have gone viral, showing hysterical women who called police because black people were grilling in a park or swimming in a pool where they lived, or the famous one with the woman in Central Park where she called police on a black man.

A few weeks ago, I was driving into a supermarket parking lot and a man had a small puppy on a leash and he lifted the puppy into his vehicle by the leash (collar/leash). I was going to put the window down and say something to him, and my daughter told me not to because I’d be considered a “Karen.”

jca2 (16269

)“Great Answer” (3

)

No. There is no stigma in my world.

SnipSnip (6777

)“Great Answer” (0

)

For those who enjoy Karen videos, there are tons on YouTube. One channel I find hilarious is this one (even their video intro makes me laugh). “Karens in the Wild.”

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1e8uA3YdIU_rB49ksUO6kg

jca2 (16269

)“Great Answer” (1

)

@JLeslie The ones I have seen featured in YouTube videos have been mainly white, but not exclusively.
There’s one or two people of color featured too.
So, my bad for talking about white Karens (only).
It’s a phenomenon that occurs in all sexes, all colors, all political sides.

rebbel (35549

)“Great Answer” (0

)

@JLeslie: Cut and pasted from the article linked:
__“In recent years, “Karen” has become an epithet for a type of interfering, hectoring white woman, the self-appointed hall monitor unloosed on the world, so assured of her status in society that she doesn’t hesitate to summon the authorities — demanding to speak to the manager or calling the police for the most trivial and often wholly imaginary transgressions. The name is not entirely arbitrary: It’s a relic of an older, more conservative America, catapulted from relative obscurity to the 20 most popular choices for newborn girls in 1941 and hovering near the top of the list for three decades. (At its height of fashion in 1965, it ranked third only after those stalwarts Mary and Lisa, which means most of today’s Karens are in their mid-50s.) Ubiquity rendered Karen generic, an emblem of conformity, granting her the safety of being thoroughly average. By 2020, its usage, already in severe decline before its hijacking as a term of mockery, had fallen to pre-Depression levels.“__

@rebbel: Check out the link I posted “Karens in the Wild.” Hilarious!

jca2 (16269

)“Great Answer” (1

)

@jca2 That was the channel I talked about in my answer.
Love it!

rebbel (35549

)“Great Answer” (1

)

@jca2 Your daughter’s response is to shut us women up. Your daughter is a teenager, so that’s more a “mom please don’t embarras me” probably. Lol. Still, it goes to my original point.

So, white women are seen as butinskies and I guess Black women are stereotyped as angry. Either way it is pushing women in a corner. I think by middle age all women start to feel like they can’t contain themselves anymore for all of the right reasons.

Shouldn’t adults interfere when they see children bullying each other, or do something when animals are being abused, there are so many examples. I do think going on Facebook to complain about a restaurant or hotel without giving them a chance to make things right first is over the top. People who just complain without being constructive isn’t good, but that’s something else.

JLeslie (65421

)“Great Answer” (5

)

@JLeslie Apparently the name came from an angry Reddit post of a man ranting about his wife. The title was something like “F*** you Karen”. The Internet was so amused by it that they have used the name to refer to asshole women since.

It was supposed to be a niche Internet reference like dank memes. It wasn’t supposed to be known by the wider public. But it got so big that now even people who don’t know much about the Internet know about it.

Recently we also have “Stacy” to mean sexy popular girls. I’m not sure about the origin of this one.

And I think the male equivalent of Karen is “neckbeard” or “fedora”.

Mimishu1995 (23628

)“Great Answer” (1

)

^Don’t forget “Chad”, the term for the man whom incels focus all their resentment at, the man who easily has sex with any woman he wants. (The only Chad I ever knew was gay).

To answer the question, no, I don’t know anyone with that name who’s thinking of changing it. I don’t even think of the meme when I think of the people I know named Karen (maybe because they are nothing like that). I have met “Karens” before but one was named Paula. ;)

Demosthenes (14935

)“Great Answer” (1

)