A Karen - Time to Stop

Doodledog We had all three back in primary school class…so very “mod” and all decent sorts.

Oh, and I once lived near a family who had a Karen, a Darren and a Sharon in the house .

If someone wants to make a point about racism they should call the perpetrators racists. If they want to talk about people with a sense of entitlement, they should call them entitled. The 'Karen' trope is too general to be meaningful, and designed to close down older women.

I mostly see it used against women who tell young mothers that their children should be physically punished ('warm her butt' and so on) on FB reels showing toddlers having tantrums. The answers, 'shut up, Karen' are as offensive as the comments themselves. Neither side is listening to the other, and both are writing off whole groups of people for seeing things differently from one another - a bit like words such as 'Remoaners' and 'Gammons' - it's like watching children shouting insults at one another instead of discussing the issue.

Speaking in cliches copied from the media cheapens debate and stops people from thinking things through, whether that is about 'Karens', 'gammons' the economy 'falling off a cliff', the NHS being 'on its knees' or whatever. It's lazy and tiresome.

In this case, picking a name that is more common in women of a certain age is also ageist and sexist, and 'Karenist', as people with that name are no more or less likely to be any of the things of which they are accused.

Karens can find hope in the fact that we don't hear of people being called a 'Wally', or a 'Herbert' any more, though - it will fade in time, and another name will probably be hijacked by the hard of thinking.

Churchview

"Whoa, whoa Julie, if you love me truly
Do you want me Julie, to be, to be your very own?"

Oh, but they loved you.
Truly!

The word Karen is now used to describe pretty much any older women who holds views that loud voices on the Internet disagree with. I have seen it used against women for holding views on all sorts of subjects from abortion to surrogacy. It's just part of the misogyny of the 'progressives'.

Ah yes, I remember now Churchview

And of course , Kevin, Bluebelle I actually dated a Kevin for a while. He hated the name.

Another friend of mine, Martin. He was called Fartin* Martin all the time.

Names can be crosses to bear.

"Whoa, whoa Julie, if you love me truly
Do you want me Julie, to be, to be your very own?"

We did have Kevin’s

Churchview

Shakin' Stevens, Ali G and Steve Coogan have all made my name a joke at various stages. I like to think I've maintained my dignity throughout and it's all blown over.

Best thing to do. Can't imagine what your name could be though! Shakin' Stevens?

My consultant was called Tracy. First name. Bloke. Nobody ever mentioned it

Shakin' Stevens, Ali G and Steve Coogan have all made my name a joke at various stages. I like to think I've maintained my dignity throughout and it's all blown over.

I'm a Karen and I hate the expression. The trouble is if you tell people they are so wrong in using that expression then they accuse you even more of being a "Karen". You can't win. So ignore and hope that the trend will soon die.

RosieandherMaw

And don’t blame Rosie - it’s her Maw who writes the posts !

Lovely pic of the doggy, what a life it has! It’s own pillow on the sofa😂does it sleep all the time? I would like to see a pic when she’s awake.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

I hate that the name Karen is used in such a derogatory name, since one of my very good friends is named Karen. She's a lovely and warm person.

I do correct people when I hear the term used in such a manner.

Primrose53

I understood a Karen was an older woman who had very strong opinions and told people what she thought without them asking. A Karen is never wrong, always complaining about things and super critical and very nosey.

Yeah, that’s the idea, she is also white, middle class , middle aged and wears her hair in a short blonde bob. It came from the US and denotes an ‘entitled’ woman.It’s stupid and hurtful to all women named Karen.

I think we need to talk about Tiktok. No matter what the older generation thinks , this is where younger generations now get their news.

5 years ago I was just like you all. Thinking it was full of rubbish. However, I now realise it's no such thing.

There's an awful lot of kids dancing, girls pouting, silly stuff

But it's not just that. It's so educational. So much to be found. I have learned a great deal.
Also, dogs . Greyhounds. I've had a couple. Fabulous dogs. Owners of all breeds are out there with Fabulous clips of their pets. Educational, advice about anything and everything

I'm quite obsessed with abandoned buildings . So many to see. Graveyards where ships go to be dismantled. Politics discussions with all sides of a discussion. All major news channels are on there. BBC, CNN, all of them.

I was educated about the horrendous flooding in North Carolina which hardly made national press. I could go on and on but I won't.

But please, don't be blind to this. You need to wise up. This is the now and present and future. Don't get left behind

Rula

*RosieandherMaw*, yes, I am well aware that we get to see actors, wannabe actors, faking.

But are you saying that those clips from the BBC and the Guardian are fake?

Surely you don't think that!

No, I was saying that TikTok is awash with fake videos which I would not cite as evidence of anything.
Surely that was clear enough?

How whoever started this nonsense came to pick on Karen to be so rude about that name, why not call them Rula instead? Sound bossy to me, ruler….Or preferably, just by their name.

Like Rosie I also have that name but it’s spelled differently because of a European connection, where it is a traditional name. Similar to Elizabeth perhaps. Never goes out of ‘fashion’.

As for your example the woman concerned was called Amy.
Please don’t give any more oxygen to such nonsense.

RosieandherMaw, yes, I am well aware that we get to see actors, wannabe actors, faking.

But are you saying that those clips from the BBC and the Guardian are fake?

Surely you don't think that!

RosieandherMaw

And don’t blame Rosie - it’s her Maw who writes the posts !

Rosie is keeping well out of it. Can't say I blame her.

I understood a Karen was an older woman who had very strong opinions and told people what she thought without them asking. A Karen is never wrong, always complaining about things and super critical and very nosey.

The internet, particularly Tik Tok, is awash with fake 'Karen' videos, it's an industry.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Seems ‘a Karen’ = an entitled b**ch then? A derogatory term, not a complimentary one?

Watch it FGT 🤣🤣🤣🤣

And don’t blame Rosie - it’s her Maw who writes the posts !

And Tik-tok hardly “From our own correspondent” ! 🤣🤣🤣