Is Karen considered a racial slur?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. It is directed at one race in particular.

+1. This is an awful slur that is for some reason tolerated. I appreciate that teacher shutting it down.

This is a bit dramatic, and honestly exactly the reason people use it to describe a certain kind of person. It's on the level of calling someone a busy body. Calling it a slur is disrespectful to the experience of people who actually get slurs lobbed at them, and is typical centering behavior of exactly the kind of person who gets called a Karen.

I view “Karen” as a way to silence women. Particularly middle aged, white women. So maybe you don’t think it’s a slur, but I do.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It describes someone's (bad) behavior. It doesn't take away their humanity and equate them with an animal or trash. It's not a slur. It's a *response* to racism, specifically weoponized whiteness.

I disagree with your conclusion, but agree that it's very different than other racial slurs for the reasons you mentioned.

If it were only used to describe people engaged in unquestionably bad behavior, I might agree with your conclusion.

But it's become an epithet to describe any white woman over the age of about 30 who is deemed (1) sexually unattractive, and (2) unreasonably demanding. I've seen many white men use it simply to describe women they find annoying or entitled, even if they are not engaged in any racist behavior. And the there is absolutely this undercurrent that it's for middle aged white women in particular, and it's a way to shut them down and provide an excuse for not listening to them. Well middle aged and older women of all races have long experienced heightened sexism because of the misogynistic belief that the role of women is to titilate and attract men. So "Karen" has become a term used to dismiss women who are no longer filling that role, especially if she has the gall to, I don't know, complain to the manager that her coffee wasn't hot (which, for the record, is actually a perfectly reasonable thing to complain to the manager about at a coffee shop).

It might have been what you claim it is, but we live in a very misogynist society and that trumped whatever original meaning it once had.

[Anonymous]

No

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. It is directed at one race in particular.

+1. This is an awful slur that is for some reason tolerated. I appreciate that teacher shutting it down.

This is a bit dramatic, and honestly exactly the reason people use it to describe a certain kind of person. It's on the level of calling someone a busy body. Calling it a slur is disrespectful to the experience of people who actually get slurs lobbed at them, and is typical centering behavior of exactly the kind of person who gets called a Karen.

I view “Karen” as a way to silence women. Particularly middle aged, white women. So maybe you don’t think it’s a slur, but I do.

How does being called a name silence someone? It's just a frustrated response to behavior that can actually be really dangerous to people of color, ie. Emmitt Till. If the existence of the term makes women who wield the power of whiteness irresponsponsibly think twice before being a busy body, I don't have a problem with it.

Because it's a word white men have co-opted explicitly to silence white women. It might have started with black people describing a very specific behavior of some white women, but then all the people who HATE middle aged women (of all races) seized it and started using it as a way to make women they deem too old, or not hot enough, to just stop talking.

So instead of silencing actual racist white women, it's largely used to silence women who are already subjected to a lot of sexism and silencing. Sorry white guys ruined it for you. They do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. It is directed at one race in particular.

+1. This is an awful slur that is for some reason tolerated. I appreciate that teacher shutting it down.

This is a bit dramatic, and honestly exactly the reason people use it to describe a certain kind of person. It's on the level of calling someone a busy body. Calling it a slur is disrespectful to the experience of people who actually get slurs lobbed at them, and is typical centering behavior of exactly the kind of person who gets called a Karen.

I view “Karen” as a way to silence women. Particularly middle aged, white women. So maybe you don’t think it’s a slur, but I do.

Also, women right here on this website have expressed fear that speaking up about anything will get them labeled a “Karen”. It’s not ok to silence women in this way. Use your words if you think someone is misbehaving. Using a slur like “Karen” is frankly just lazy and dumb.

Karen is a word 🙄 It's not actually hurting you.

Following your logic the "n" word is just a word too, it's not hurting anyone. You are a joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. It is directed at one race in particular.

+1. This is an awful slur that is for some reason tolerated. I appreciate that teacher shutting it down.

This is a bit dramatic, and honestly exactly the reason people use it to describe a certain kind of person. It's on the level of calling someone a busy body. Calling it a slur is disrespectful to the experience of people who actually get slurs lobbed at them, and is typical centering behavior of exactly the kind of person who gets called a Karen.

I view “Karen” as a way to silence women. Particularly middle aged, white women. So maybe you don’t think it’s a slur, but I do.

Also, women right here on this website have expressed fear that speaking up about anything will get them labeled a “Karen”. It’s not ok to silence women in this way. Use your words if you think someone is misbehaving. Using a slur like “Karen” is frankly just lazy and dumb.

Karen is a word 🙄 It's not actually hurting you.

Following your logic the "n" word is just a word too, it's not hurting anyone. You are a joke.

To act like those words are the same entirely ignores history and existing power structures. You are the joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. It is directed at one race in particular.

+1. This is an awful slur that is for some reason tolerated. I appreciate that teacher shutting it down.

This is a bit dramatic, and honestly exactly the reason people use it to describe a certain kind of person. It's on the level of calling someone a busy body. Calling it a slur is disrespectful to the experience of people who actually get slurs lobbed at them, and is typical centering behavior of exactly the kind of person who gets called a Karen.

I view “Karen” as a way to silence women. Particularly middle aged, white women. So maybe you don’t think it’s a slur, but I do.

How does being called a name silence someone? It's just a frustrated response to behavior that can actually be really dangerous to people of color, ie. Emmitt Till. If the existence of the term makes women who wield the power of whiteness irresponsponsibly think twice before being a busy body, I don't have a problem with it.

Because it's a word white men have co-opted explicitly to silence white women. It might have started with black people describing a very specific behavior of some white women, but then all the people who HATE middle aged women (of all races) seized it and started using it as a way to make women they deem too old, or not hot enough, to just stop talking.

So instead of silencing actual racist white women, it's largely used to silence women who are already subjected to a lot of sexism and silencing. Sorry white guys ruined it for you. They do that.

Multiple races have united to attack white women with "Karen".

[Anonymous]

It’s a mixture of sexist/racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. It is directed at one race in particular.

+1. This is an awful slur that is for some reason tolerated. I appreciate that teacher shutting it down.

This is a bit dramatic, and honestly exactly the reason people use it to describe a certain kind of person. It's on the level of calling someone a busy body. Calling it a slur is disrespectful to the experience of people who actually get slurs lobbed at them, and is typical centering behavior of exactly the kind of person who gets called a Karen.

I view “Karen” as a way to silence women. Particularly middle aged, white women. So maybe you don’t think it’s a slur, but I do.

Yep. This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. It is directed at one race in particular.

+1. This is an awful slur that is for some reason tolerated. I appreciate that teacher shutting it down.

This is a bit dramatic, and honestly exactly the reason people use it to describe a certain kind of person. It's on the level of calling someone a busy body. Calling it a slur is disrespectful to the experience of people who actually get slurs lobbed at them, and is typical centering behavior of exactly the kind of person who gets called a Karen.

Yeah like that pregnant woman who had the audacity to rent a bike so she could get home from work, flaunting her fetus privilege and her "working for a living" privilege to everyone.

[Anonymous]

I remember that time when I told a racist misogynist that their racist misogyny upset me, and they immediately apologized and changed their behavior, and didn't insult me and tell me I deserved it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. It is directed at one race in particular.

+1. This is an awful slur that is for some reason tolerated. I appreciate that teacher shutting it down.

This is a bit dramatic, and honestly exactly the reason people use it to describe a certain kind of person. It's on the level of calling someone a busy body. Calling it a slur is disrespectful to the experience of people who actually get slurs lobbed at them, and is typical centering behavior of exactly the kind of person who gets called a Karen.

I view “Karen” as a way to silence women. Particularly middle aged, white women. So maybe you don’t think it’s a slur, but I do.

+1 Perfectly stated. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

FFS, no it's not a racial slur. Some people are in fact Karens and need to be called out on it. Don't care if they're brown, white, black, hell even a man.

[Anonymous]

I’m a middle aged white woman and do not consider it a racial slur. Karens are busybodies and misdemeanor vigilantes against minorities. Not sure why other middle age women want to defend this behavior and label it racist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. It is directed at one race in particular.

+1. This is an awful slur that is for some reason tolerated. I appreciate that teacher shutting it down.

This is a bit dramatic, and honestly exactly the reason people use it to describe a certain kind of person. It's on the level of calling someone a busy body. Calling it a slur is disrespectful to the experience of people who actually get slurs lobbed at them, and is typical centering behavior of exactly the kind of person who gets called a Karen.

I view “Karen” as a way to silence women. Particularly middle aged, white women. So maybe you don’t think it’s a slur, but I do.

Not many people want to hear entitled, aggressive opinions coming from anyone.

If you're hearing Karen then maybe reflect on the comments you're making.