# Why Karen? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 30, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633 "2020-03-30T00:29:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/61 "2020-06-13T22:30:08Z")
I would’ve picked Jennifer. I have had a lot of issues over the years with Jennifers. Not Jens though, and not Jennys. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/62 "2020-06-13T22:33:13Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Hmm, to me Jody is a girl’s name. It can be a man’s name too. > [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > If you have ever been in the military you know who Jody is. He may have been a friend or neighbor once. But while you are away he is home fucking your wife or girlfriend. Jody invokes an immediate image of who we are talking about. [spoiler]Jody’s got your girl and gone! (Jody’s got your girl and gone!) Am I right or am I wrong? (Am I right or am I wrong?) Am I right or wrong? (You’re right!) Am I right or wrong?) (You’re right!) Now sound off! (One, two, three, four! (One, two, three, four!) I’m going to take a three-day pass, (I’m going to take a three-day pass) And go and kick old Jody’s ass! (And go and kick old Jody’s ass!) Now sound off! (One, two, three, four! (One, two, three, four!)[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/63 "2020-06-14T12:09:59Z")
During the 1970-80s the name Karen was so common within a certain demographic that it was basically a synonym for a middle class thirty something adult white female. I always assumed that’s how it started. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/64 "2020-06-14T14:31:04Z")
Karen seems to be the name for racist females. > **[New Racist L.A. 'Karen' Uses Hammer to Bang Up Neighbor's Car](https://www.tmz.com/2020/06/13/racist-los-angeles-karen-hammer-smash-car-neighbor/)** > > A new 'Karen' has emerged on the outskirts of L.A. > **[SoCal 'Karen' Identified by Police, Named Suspect in Multiple Racial Incidents](https://www.tmz.com/2020/06/11/torrance-karen-racist-attack-woman-stairs-california-sun-black/)** > > Another day, another angry old lady going on a hateful, racist attack because she's been slightly inconvenienced. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/65 "2020-06-23T16:52:31Z")
My wag, which I conjectured the first time I saw the usage (apropos the Cooper/Cooper incident is that it is a generic white bread, blue eyed, blond Scandinavian name, while being relatively commmon. ---
**Author:** ![Snipe70e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Snipe70e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snipe70e)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/66 "2020-06-25T00:23:57Z")
We all know someone who is always caring how some else does their job or other acts. They always be Caring how you are doing this or that. Karen-Caring. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/67 "2020-06-25T03:03:32Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Anyone know a Felicia? I bet they are so weary of people saying bye to them. My son was engaged to a girl named Felicia. He’s been a lot happier since saying goodbye to her. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2020, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/68 "2020-06-29T02:54:07Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > I thought it was from the film Goodfellas. Specifically the scene where Henry complains about her flushing the coke down the toilet. Ka-ren! 100%. Since first hearing the use of a generic Karen applied to these misguided/ racist/ idiot souls, I thought of that classic scene. Cause, Karen didn’t think things through. At all. And the "Karen"s of late don’t think things through. Side Note: When I was a senior in High School ( 1979-1980 ) the name Karen in all iterations and spellings apparently had a moment of Supreme Nexus. Not only was I dating a girl named Caryn, but I was fairly close friends with FOUR other Karens. I got home from some activity or another one day and Mom said, " Karen called ". Normally I’d have assumed it was my girlfriend Caryn. But I had to ask. Did it sound like Caryn, Mom?? ( She knew her well, etc. ) All she would say in an irritated voice was, " I don’t KNOW- it was a Karen ! " Hey, it was a chance to catch up with all four Karens. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/69 "2020-06-29T21:38:12Z")
I just saw a youtube video on this. I believe it goes back to some reddit post that describe the proto-Karen and it took off from there. Some believe started from the line in _Mean Girls_ “Oh My God, Karen, You can’t just ask someone why they’re white.” but personally I don’t get the whole angry soccer-mom vibe from that. ---
**Author:** ![KMS94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ad7895/32.png) [@KMS94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KMS94)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2020, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/70 "2020-06-30T00:54:11Z")
In military memes, “Carl” is the name usually given to the protagonist. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2020, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/71 "2020-06-30T05:38:05Z")
It is very hurtful and quite bigoted. Someone suggested “Ivankas”, not sure why. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2020, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/72 "2020-06-30T13:52:18Z")
So, the “girl stealing” Jody reputation is from a song from 1970? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/73 "2020-06-30T15:25:28Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Someone suggested “Ivankas”, not sure why. “Ivankas” are vapid. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2020, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/74 "2020-07-01T04:12:21Z")
Washington Post posts an essay about the Karens (and Kens) of the internet. [Who’s the most galling, captivating character on our screens this summer? It’s Karen — and she’s everywhere.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/whos-the-most-galling-captivating-character-on-our-screens-this-summer-its-karen--and-shes-everywhere/2020/06/30/f806a64c-ba44-11ea-80b9-40ece9a701dc_story.html) > **[Perspective | Who’s the most galling, captivating character on our screens...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/whos-the-most-galling-captivating-character-on-our-screens-this-summer-its-karen--and-shes-everywhere/2020/06/30/f806a64c-ba44-11ea-80b9-40ece9a701dc_story.html)** > > We’ve replaced “Cops” and “Live PD” with a more satisfying streaming saga of comeuppance. > [@](#): > > The most addictive TV show this summer isn’t even an official TV show, but how long before it becomes one? Several times a day, Instagram and Twitter feeds serve up another galling, sad and often intensely satisfying segment of a reality series we can just go ahead and call “Karens,” in which women (almost always white, almost always of a certain demeanor) make the mistake of policing, harassing or discriminating against their fellow humans in public. > > As soon as one Karen flames out across the Internet, another apparently more unhinged Karen rises in her place. > > One watches the video of the mask-defiant Karen in Dallas who angrily hurls the contents of her grocery cart to the floor, then, only hours later, one sees the terrifying video of a Karen and her husband (the male version of a Karen, sometimes known as a Kevin, has lately been termed a Ken) defiantly guarding their St. Louis manse from passersby marching in a protest Sunday. This barefooted Karen, wearing a black-and-white striped shirt and the regulation capri-length Karen pants, is waving a pistol; her husband, in his schlubby pink polo shirt, brandishes a semiautomatic rifle. (In fact, they are lawyers Mark and Patricia McCloskey, but in today’s context there is no mistaking that they are Ken and Karen America.) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/75 "2020-07-02T16:29:47Z")
There have always been idiots. It’s just that more and more of them are being filmed with cellphones. FTR, I don’t think I personally know a single Karen. I do know a Karyn, though, and she’s great. ---
**Author:** ![Pancake\_Robot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@Pancake\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pancake_Robot)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/76 "2020-07-08T22:50:27Z")
Jody was still a thing in the early 90s. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2020, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/77 "2020-07-09T03:51:48Z")
Wikipedia has a good treatment: [Karen (slang) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_(slang)) > The term may have originated as a meme on [Black Twitter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Twitter) “used to describe white women who tattle on Black kids’ lemonade stands”.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_(slang)#cite_note-:0-1) … Karen has gone by different names. Back in the '90s, when ‘[Baby Got Back](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Got_Back)’ came out, it was [Becky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Becky_(slang))."[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_(slang)#cite_note-:0-1) > > Another use of the term _Karen_ as an [internet meme](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme) dates to an anonymous [Reddit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reddit) user, Fuck\_You\_Karen, who posted rants denigrating his ex-wife Karen, whom he alleged had taken both his children and, later, his house during divorce proceedings. The posts led to the creation of a [subreddit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subreddit) in 2017, r/FuckYouKaren, to both compile a narrative and share memes about the posts. Since Fuck\_You\_Karen deleted their account, the subreddit refocused to memes about the stereotype in general rather than one specific woman.[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_(slang)#cite_note-Romano-4)[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_(slang)#cite_note-BI-5) > > The name [Karen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_(name)) had negative connotations predating the Internet meme, the notable uses being [Lorraine Bracco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorraine_Bracco)’s depiction of [Karen Friedman Hill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Friedman_Hill) in the 1990 film _[Goodfellas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodfellas)_ , and [Amanda Seyfried](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Seyfried)’s ditzy schoolgirl character in the 2004 film _[Mean Girls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_Girls)_ . Other noted uses of _Karen_ as a joke punchline include [Dane Cook](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dane_Cook)’s 2005 sketch… There’s more. I favor the reddit sourcing. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2020, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/78 "2020-07-09T04:52:59Z")
Then why not use “Patricia”? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2020, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/79 "2020-07-09T05:28:01Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > > [@DrDeth](#): > > > > Someone suggested “Ivankas”, not sure why. > > “Ivankas” are vapid.  And feckless. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2020, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633/80 "2020-07-09T13:16:01Z")
My wife’s former summer boss was named Felicia. Very nice person, and we’d never say that dismissive “Bye, Felicia” to her face, but would always snicker and say it after leaving her presence or hanging up the phone from a call with her. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-karen/850633.md?page=5)