Karen is my Name

@Sara1954

Yes, I agree, children can be cruel but the teacher we are talking about was being abused by teenagers and staff.

I’m sorry you felt you had to change your name, Oriel. The use of names such as Karen as a term of abuse is misogynistic.

A friend has had to change her family’s surname due to continual abuse, because it’s a term now commonly used for a male sexual organ. Her children were mercilessly teased (for which I’d say bullied) about their name and also the name was frequently flagged up as having sexual content and thus rejected on online websites.

In the end, the family decided that changing their name officially was the best solution, though they adopted a new name only when all other paths had been explored and they did it with great sadness.

I literally had no idea that Karen was used as an insult! Pity, it’s a really nice name….

@Oriel Because most people named Karen are middle aged to elderly the name is used to effectively silence older white women. I don't know why this should be the case but it is.

If you have a look at YouTube you’ll see why it’s the case. The white women - and not all of them older - in most of the YouTube posts are expressing absolutely vile racist opinions and behaviour - see my original post upthread. I don’t hold with using a particular women’s name to call this kind of behaviour out, but I don’t think ‘Karen’ is being used to silence different opinions or to squash free speech in the examples I’m talking about, because as I say, it’s mostly overtly racist behaviour.

No that's its origin its absolutely not how it's being used now.

SueDonim
I do understand that, I deal with the public every day, and some of the names I come across are really unfortunate.

My cousins lovely caring wife is called Karen. Until reading this thread I had no idea that this perfectly pleasant innocuous name is being used as an insult to the point people are changing their name. Mrs Bucket is one thing, but peoples christian names is quite another, and is frankly horrible.

Mawbe, we U.S. citizens are very familiar with (and fond of) Hyacinth! Keeping Up Appearances has been running on American TV for many years.

There are loads of names that have been attached to certain personality types etc. During WWII anyone from Scotland in a regiment was called Jock regardless of their actual name. Having blonde hair has its associations with intellect that is why I love the film Legally Blonde. Some women are referred to as being a bit of a Barbie after the doll, inferring that they are not too bright and love clothes and makeup. Sometimes a film will feature a name and that becomes a problem. Referring to a woman as a bit of a Jessica at the time of Jessica Rabbit from Who Shot Roger Rabbit had its clear meaning. Men come in for the same criticism and name problems. Stick with your name and be proud of it.

Pammie1

@Oriel Because most people named Karen are middle aged to elderly the name is used to effectively silence older white women. I don't know why this should be the case but it is.

If you have a look at YouTube you’ll see why it’s the case. The white women - and not all of them older - in most of the YouTube posts are expressing absolutely vile racist opinions and behaviour - see my original post upthread. I don’t hold with using a particular women’s name to call this kind of behaviour out, but I don’t think ‘Karen’ is being used to silence different opinions or to squash free speech in the examples I’m talking about, because as I say, it’s mostly overtly racist behaviour.

You don't think its racist to abuse and be offensive to white women??

You mentioned the racism in the States earlier - have you not seen YouTube videos of BLM and ANTIFA agitators dressed in black and carrying automatic weapons threatening people into holding their arm up in black power salute? People sitting outside restaurants being shouted at whilst being pinned to their chairs by a mob?

There are many videos showing the unrest in the States here are two picked at random...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSnTTND0UcM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-iCAgWvcYI

There are racists and bad people everywhere. That doesn't excuse calling them by anything other than they are.

Where exactly are all these older white racist women?

coastalgran

There are loads of names that have been attached to certain personality types etc. During WWII anyone from Scotland in a regiment was called Jock regardless of their actual name. Having blonde hair has its associations with intellect that is why I love the film Legally Blonde. Some women are referred to as being a bit of a Barbie after the doll, inferring that they are not too bright and love clothes and makeup. Sometimes a film will feature a name and that becomes a problem. Referring to a woman as a bit of a Jessica at the time of Jessica Rabbit from Who Shot Roger Rabbit had its clear meaning. Men come in for the same criticism and name problems. Stick with your name and be proud of it.

I get the use of nick-names and lighthearted use of the names you quoted. The Karen meme is something completely different.

Follow the link in my original post to get an idea of what is going on.

My sister is called Karen and wait until I tell her all about this as we both had not a clue her name was being used this way, although knowing her attitude she will just think they are all a bunch of idiots. Aren't some folk so insulting, I despair at times.

Yes it's true, people did refer to others by lets say Jock or Taffy , Mick or whatever,and they probably they shouldn't, but it wasn't their real names,forcing them to change them.

and not necessarily retroactive.

derogative not retroactive (as if?!)

Alioop

My sister is called Karen and wait until I tell her all about this as we both had not a clue her name was being used this way, although knowing her attitude she will just think they are all a bunch of idiots. Aren't some folk so insulting, I despair at times.

I'm sorry your sister didn't know about the way her name is being used.

When I first found out (my stepson told me) I couldn't sleep and got up at 2am checked the Karen meme online. There was so much hate and abuse I was totally floored by it. By 6am I was in tears. I felt absolutely gutted.

I made a list then of potential names but waited a year before making the decision to change it. As I said earlier the factor that made my mind up was when I saw a young woman with a placard stating 'We're being kind when we say Karen what we actually mean is c*nt'.

I've gone from being terribly upset to actually being quite angry about what is going on. Can you believe there's even a film called Karen which is due for release soon. How is this allowed?

Just found this really interesting piece in NY Times
www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/style/karen-name-meme-history.amp.html

There is evidence that the negative use of Karen started in 2005 - and the article also cites the use of "Miss Ann" as an earlier "coded" name. Fascinating.
There are lots of comments too if interested.

Sorry, Oriel, I know it's too late for you but they seem to think it will be gone in 10 years as the use is now too broad and non-specific.

Hi Oriel
Sorry I have only just seen this or I would have joined in this conversation sooner. My name is Karen from the U.K. and yes it is horrible and hurtful. It is not as bad here in the U.K. as in America but I have had some truly awful experiences of it and have been reduced to tears on many occasions.
Those on here that say we are too sensitive and should ignore it must not realise the extent of what is happening. I have nicely asked people online not to use my name as a pejorative and the responses I have had from some have been disgusting. One woman on Facebook told me to take the stick from up my backside and use it as a dildo.
For those who see the empathy generator as a joke must not realise that the memes and other things on there are actual things that I am seeing regularly. That is how bad it has got.

Hi Kazzie, sadly your experiences mirror my own. You have my utmost sympathy.

My reason for posting on Gransnet was to find out if anyone else had changed their name and also alert people to what is actually going on. It simply cannot be right that a section of society is being abused as they are now.

I've been surprised at how many people haven't heard of it at all. I'm also surprised that some people are so dismissive. The empathy generator is absolutely reflects what Karens see regularly it is horrendous.

Do you think you'll change your name?

I know two Karens. I'm also familiar with the name used as a pejorative. It has never occurred to me to link the two.

Chewbacca. In Australia some men referred to women as Sheila or thr Sheilas but it certainly did nit have the connotations you describe when i was growing up there. It was mire used in rural areas and I recall an ad for beer fairly recently where a man holding a bottle of sherry saying “ and i havent forgotten the Sheilas” i just smiled and remembered my teen years. I was not offended!

NotSpaghetti

Just found this really interesting piece in NY Times
www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/style/karen-name-meme-history.amp.html

There is evidence that the negative use of Karen started in 2005 - and the article also cites the use of "Miss Ann" as an earlier "coded" name. Fascinating.
There are lots of comments too if interested.

Sorry, Oriel, I know it's too late for you but they seem to think it will be gone in 10 years as the use is now too broad and non-specific.

Hi NotSpaghetti that article and the comments were fascinating.

I couldn't wait 10 years for it to disappear! Life's too short, as they say

cc

I can't say that I've hear people belittle others using "Karen" though I have with "Sharon".

I've been a Sharon for 66 years. I have two friends named Sharon. I've never taken any flak from anyone.
Even if I had, I'm thick skinned so it wouldn't bother me.
I know three Karen's, all lovely ladies.
I can sympathise with you though.

@Oriel. I am absolutely not disputing anything you have said - Antifa and BLM in my opinion are movements which have been hijacked by the left and are being used as puppets for another agenda. And no, it’s very far from OK to be abusive and offensive to white women. If you have a look at my original post upthread I have already said this - we need to find another way to tackle racism because so called activists are turning it on it’s head and directing racist abuse at white people - we’re being called supremacists and privileged, and even being told we should be ashamed to be white !! That’s no solution, it’s divisive and just as racist in and of itself. My biggest problem with BLM - and I’m prepared to get flamed for this - is that black lives only seem to matter if they are being taken by white policemen. There are black people killing black people in gangs in London and there is out and out gang warfare among young black males in countless US cities. Why do they not matter ? Who marches for them ?

I was simply responding to your question, based on my experience of the awful things I have seen on YouTube and if you are fair minded you have to agree that there is no excuse for this kind of racist behaviour. And to answer your last question the white racist women I refer to are being filmed by YouTubers on a regular basis all over the US - the most recent one I can think of is that of a white woman in Central Park who called the police on a black man who was doing nothing more than taking his dog for a walk. It was disgusting and all the wrong headed BLM and Antifa thinking in the world doesn’t excuse it.

Yes, I have heard it being subject to abuse and used as an insult, but I find it quite a pretty name. My name is Christina, but it tends to get shortened, so if I could choose a name it would be short name like Grace, Eve, Iris or Faye. Alot of long names can be nice but the abbreviations are awful. I like Alexandra, but am not keen on Alex, and I hate Lexie. I like Rebecca but not Becky, and I cannot stand Victoria being shortened to Vicky.