How Karen became a meme, and what Karens thought in real life

But where do these terms come from, and what do they represent? And what does it mean for people of color, people like Sun, who find themselves sharing names with this stereotype?

How the term “Karen” began

Although these names have recently been popularized, thanks to the power of Twitter Black culture, these names are not new.

Not just “Karen,” of course. There are also names like “Becky,” which also came to symbolize certain vaginal stereotypes. And Susan. And Chad.

André Brock is a professor at Georgia Tech, and he spent years studying the intersection of race and digital culture.

The modern iteration of these names comes from entertainment, he said. Even comedian Dane Cook, a little from 2005, used “Karen” as a joke, as a substitute for a friend that nobody really liked.

Brock also referenced Sir Mix-A-Lot’s 1992 hit, “Baby Got Back” as an example. The introduction of the song begins with a reference to “Becky,” who insults an unnamed black woman: “Oh my God, Becky, look at her ass. It’s very big. She looks like one of those rap people.” girlfriend. “

And who can forget the Beyoncé icon “You should call Becky with good hair” from her album “Lemonade” in 2016?

But history goes back even further. Black people, he said, also have names for white people who want to be responsible but actually have no control over them.

Miss Ann is an example, since slavery. That is a name specifically used by black slaves to refer to white women who want to exert power over them – powers they do not really have, Brock said.

So even though the names have changed now – we have largely replaced “Miss Ann” with “Becky” and “Karen” – the idea behind the names is still the same.

“It’s always about views,” Brock explained. “And the desire to control what is in view.”

In other words? It’s about the desire of some white women to exercise control over black people – just like in the slave era, like in 1992 and the same as it is today, he said.

Names like Karen, or Becky? It was an act of resistance by black people, Brock said. It names the behavior and acts as a way to get solidarity with injustice, maybe laugh at it and live your day.

What does “Karen” symbolize

For the term “Karen,” part of its appeal is that this name existed, for the most part, in ancient times. And in that case, it is a strong moniker for someone who is clearly not touched.

Just look at the baby name data from the Social Security Office. Between 1951 and 1968, the name “Karen” saw its peak – sitting enough in the top 10 for the most popular baby names in the US.

But in 2018, the last available year, “Karen” ranked 635th in the most popular names, quite far from grace.

“Karen is a name no one will name their child anymore,” Lisa Nakamura, director of the Institute of Digital Studies at the University of Michigan, said bluntly.

So the use of names like “Karen,” Nakamura explained, was part of finding someone, and their actions, in a regressive period of time.

That This phenomenon is demonstrated by the “BBQ Becky” incident in 2018, a viral video showing how a white woman calls the police to a group of black people who are baking in a public park, claiming that they are breaking the law. At the beginning of the video, the woman confirms herself, but in the end, when the police come, she cries, saying, “I was harassed.”

White women – “Karens” in particular – can gather sympathy for showing their vulnerability, Brock explains, taking from the focus that they are doing something wrong and will be called to it.

“They get away with behavior that no one else will do,” he explained.

How does Karens feel about that term

So how do people named Karen feel about this?

Sun told CNN that no one ever seriously called them “Karen.” Of course it did, they said, and sometimes they used it in jest. But they don’t think it’s a slur at all.

“There is no real systemic oppression there,” they said. “That won’t prevent you from getting married, or getting health care, you just act right and be rude and that’s why you are called ‘Karen.’

Even so, Sun notes that having Karen’s name has an impact on how they navigate the world, at least the way they choose when to talk.

Karen Shim, 23, based in Philadelphia, has a similar feeling.

Even though he knows memes or comments aren’t directed at him specifically, he says it can still feel a little personal – if only because of its name.

Now, Shim says he might not be comfortable talking in certain situations, for fear that someone might, even joking, make fun of his “Karen” movements.

But Shim, who is Korean and Chinese, also said his name was not the first thing people might judge him – it would be his race, he said.

Sun agrees.

“There is already a way I move in the world, as someone who is strange and not white,” they said. “Even with the name association, it adds another layer, but I’m not necessarily defined by that layer.”

Karen Chen, 20, based in North Carolina, told CNN that although her name association with stereotypes made her a little uncomfortable, she said she was fine with its use.

“I know that’s clearly just a name, and this doesn’t represent me at all and how people think of me,” he said.

More than the name itself, what really upsets Chen is the implication of the actions of “Karen,” and how the use of their privileges can be detrimental to marginalized groups.

Brock, though not named Karen, sums it up like this: “If you are offended by archetypes, which say more about your insecurities of being a liberal ally, than about people who use the word to describe unfair situations.”

In other words, you can become Karen without becoming “Karen.”