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.

Agree - a way to marginalize and silence women.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, kids have all picked this up and use it in place of the word “tattletale” now. It’s not only directed at older white women, although it started that way.

And yes, as a white woman, I do pause when I see legitimately bad behavior and wonder if I’ll be filmed and called a Karen for speaking up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, kids have all picked this up and use it in place of the word “tattletale” now. It’s not only directed at older white women, although it started that way.

And yes, as a white woman, I do pause when I see legitimately bad behavior and wonder if I’ll be filmed and called a Karen for speaking up.

The lesson is just call the cops and don't try to involve yourself. So it's gone full circle and trying to "silence" women hasn't really worked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Racist and sexist. When you take a term associated with a specific race, age, gender, or nationality and use it to negatively describe an action, that term is a slur.

A “Karen” refers to a white, older woman. Using a term that reflects age, race, and gender to denigrate another is using the term as a slur.

Our society doesn’t look at it like a slur, because it’s seen as socially acceptable to denigrate white women. Same with the term “Becky”.

I call people out on it all the time. We should be encouraging women to use their voices.

100, even when -- or maybe especially when -- that is a group of women who have been silenced and told that what they have should is good enough for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

Because some people feel entitled to continue their bad behavior.

I feel like it started as a remark to police women who are being entitled and racist (unfortunately named, given how many people actually DO have the name Karen).

It is now a word to tell white, middle aged women specifically that they are being uppity and should sit down and accept whatever they are given in a way that alludes to racism, but isn't necessarily racist in itself (what the women are saying).

For example, in the hot coffee situation. If I am asking or hotter coffee, does that make me a Karen? Because now I think common usage would say "yes" if I am a middle-aged white woman. If I am telling a young black man I am going to get them fired for the lukewarm story, THAT is worth shutting down.

It all depends on how you ask.

There are ways of “using your voice” that don’t sound entitled or abusive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rich white women want to be oppressed so bad.

Some. Not all.

I could be considered this -- a rich white woman. (Although I am poor by DCUM standards- HHI about 150,000). And is my situation worse than a poor black woman's, on average? Hell no. Do I experience discrimination, especially in situations in which my education/wealth isn't apparent? 1000%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Racist and sexist. When you take a term associated with a specific race, age, gender, or nationality and use it to negatively describe an action, that term is a slur.

A “Karen” refers to a white, older woman. Using a term that reflects age, race, and gender to denigrate another is using the term as a slur.

Our society doesn’t look at it like a slur, because it’s seen as socially acceptable to denigrate white women. Same with the term “Becky”.

I call people out on it all the time. We should be encouraging women to use their voices.

100, even when -- or maybe especially when -- that is a group of women who have been silenced and told that what they have should is good enough for them.

No one is entitled to be abusive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rich white women want to be oppressed so bad.

Some. Not all.

I could be considered this -- a rich white woman. (Although I am poor by DCUM standards- HHI about 150,000). And is my situation worse than a poor black woman's, on average? Hell no. Do I experience discrimination, especially in situations in which my education/wealth isn't apparent? 1000%

Do you flex your “power” when you talk down to others?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

agree

YES! Agree 100%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

Because some people feel entitled to continue their bad behavior.

I feel like it started as a remark to police women who are being entitled and racist (unfortunately named, given how many people actually DO have the name Karen).

It is now a word to tell white, middle aged women specifically that they are being uppity and should sit down and accept whatever they are given in a way that alludes to racism, but isn't necessarily racist in itself (what the women are saying).

For example, in the hot coffee situation. If I am asking or hotter coffee, does that make me a Karen? Because now I think common usage would say "yes" if I am a middle-aged white woman. If I am telling a young black man I am going to get them fired for the lukewarm story, THAT is worth shutting down.

It all depends on how you ask.

There are ways of “using your voice” that don’t sound entitled or abusive.

BS. There is nothing some women of a certain age can do right. Just make the coffee the correct way and there won't be any problems. But serving lukewarm crap and expecting customers to sheepishly accept it and shuffle away is ridiculous. If you suck at your job, maybe find another. But the person pointing out that the coffee is bad is not the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Exactly.

It's about your behavior. Not your skin color or genitalia.

Look, I agree it's different to be racist against white women, but it IS typicalyl used for middle aged white women -- not others. They are entirled to what they want, it seems (inc young white women, middle-aged men)

No one is entitled to be being abusive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

Because some people feel entitled to continue their bad behavior.

I feel like it started as a remark to police women who are being entitled and racist (unfortunately named, given how many people actually DO have the name Karen).

It is now a word to tell white, middle aged women specifically that they are being uppity and should sit down and accept whatever they are given in a way that alludes to racism, but isn't necessarily racist in itself (what the women are saying).

For example, in the hot coffee situation. If I am asking or hotter coffee, does that make me a Karen? Because now I think common usage would say "yes" if I am a middle-aged white woman. If I am telling a young black man I am going to get them fired for the lukewarm story, THAT is worth shutting down.

It all depends on how you ask.

There are ways of “using your voice” that don’t sound entitled or abusive.

BS. There is nothing some women of a certain age can do right. Just make the coffee the correct way and there won't be any problems. But serving lukewarm crap and expecting customers to sheepishly accept it and shuffle away is ridiculous. If you suck at your job, maybe find another. But the person pointing out that the coffee is bad is not the problem.

BS. It’s 100% in the way someone asks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

Because some people feel entitled to continue their bad behavior.

I feel like it started as a remark to police women who are being entitled and racist (unfortunately named, given how many people actually DO have the name Karen).

It is now a word to tell white, middle aged women specifically that they are being uppity and should sit down and accept whatever they are given in a way that alludes to racism, but isn't necessarily racist in itself (what the women are saying).

For example, in the hot coffee situation. If I am asking or hotter coffee, does that make me a Karen? Because now I think common usage would say "yes" if I am a middle-aged white woman. If I am telling a young black man I am going to get them fired for the lukewarm story, THAT is worth shutting down.

It all depends on how you ask.

There are ways of “using your voice” that don’t sound entitled or abusive.

BS. There is nothing some women of a certain age can do right. Just make the coffee the correct way and there won't be any problems. But serving lukewarm crap and expecting customers to sheepishly accept it and shuffle away is ridiculous. If you suck at your job, maybe find another. But the person pointing out that the coffee is bad is not the problem.

BS. It’s 100% in the way someone asks.

Some people have to find something to complain about everywhere they go. Those people also tend to come across as overly rude and unreasonable. I have never been served a "lukewarm" cup of coffee in my life. You remind me of my mom - she goes to a bunch of shitty, cheap establishments and then complains when the food definitely matches her price point. For example, she goes somewhere that has a $13.99 "baked salmon." It comes out all freezer burned and dry and overcooked. She complains. No shit that's how it came out - what do you expect for 13.99. That's how people become Karens (one way)

[Anonymous]

^Sorry meant to reply to the previous poster

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Exactly.

It's about your behavior. Not your skin color or genitalia.

Look, I agree it's different to be racist against white women, but it IS typicalyl used for middle aged white women -- not others. They are entirled to what they want, it seems (inc young white women, middle-aged men)

No one is entitled to be being abusive.

NP I fully agree but, at this point, it is used towards any middle aged lady who has annoyed someone, not just in scenarios where the person is being abusive and racist. And people are pretty easily annoyed.

My issue with the term is that it’s applied too liberally and assumes all middle aged women are obnoxious whiners. I do see it as a demeaning term