What exactly is a 'Karen' and where did the meme

come from?

Earlier this week Domino's Pizza had to issue an apology over

a promotion it ran in Australia and New Zealand, offering free
pizza to "nice Karens".
The company didn't pick out the name Karen at random.
"Karen" has, in recent years, become a widespread meme
referencing a specific type of middle-class white woman
To give some examples, "Karen" is associated with the kind of
person who demands to "speak to the manager" in order to
belittle service industry workers, is anti-vaccination, and
carries out racist micro-aggressions, such as asking to touch
black people's hair.
But a predominant feature of the "Karen" stereotype is that
they weaponise their relative privilege against people of colour
- for example, when making police complaints against black
people for minor or even - in numerous cases - fictitious
infringements.
And in recent months, the meme has evolved into something
new: Coronavirus Karen. This particular form of Karen refuses to wear a face covering in
shops, won't stick to quarantine, and thinks the whole pandemic thing is overblown.
But as the meme has become increasingly mainstream, some have argued that it's sexist
and ageist.
Similar insult like “OK Boomer” stereotypes a specific generation, calling someone
a “Karen” draws on associations people have built around extremely common
names. But the stereotype the name is limited (at least in the US ) mainly to white
women in their mid-30s or 40s. The archetypal “Karen” is blonde, has multiple
young kids, and is usually an anti-vaxxer. Karen has a “can I speak to the
manager” haircut and a controlling, superior attitude to go along with it.
Where did the meme come from?
Although its exact origins are uncertain, the meme became popular a few years
ago as a way for people of colour, particularly black Americans, to satirise the
class-based and racially charged hostility they often face.
Over the last decade, as it became easier to film confrontations on our
smartphones, incidents started to be captured on camera and uploaded to social
media with far greater ease - a woman calling the
police when a black eight-year-old child was selling
water without a permit, for example.
When these videos inevitably went viral, people online
would name them based on the situation.
The woman who complained about the young water-
seller was dubbed "Permit Patty". Another woman who
called the police when a black family was having a
barbecue was named "BBQ Becky". And a white
woman who called 911 on a black dad at a football
match, while sitting in a golf cart, was called "Golfcart
Gail".
This trend properly broke through in 2018, and
eventually all of these names became distilled into one
or two of the most popular - including Karen.
It also became synonymous with a particular
type of hairstyle - specifically, the short, choppy
cut sported by US reality TV personality Kate
Gosselin in 2010. (Gosselin has since changed
her hairstyle.)
And in recent months a male version of the
Karen meme has emerged, although it is less
widely used: Ken. In June, when wealthy couple
Patricia and Mark McCloskey were pictured
pointing guns at protesters passing by their
home in St Louis, Missouri, they were widely
dubbed "Karen and Ken".
What is a 'Coronavirus Karen'?
The wearing of face coverings in this pandemic has been extremely politically
charged in the US, with some insisting mandatory usage is an affront to personal
liberty.
Since the coronavirus arrived in the country, videos have periodically gone viral on
social media of people refusing to wear face coverings in stores and restaurants.
Aggressively refusing to wear a face covering to help protect others from the virus
has been seen as a new iteration of the stereotype of the entitled Karen who
harasses service industry workers. Similarly, people who share coronavirus
disinformation and conspiracy theories on social media are called Karens, too.
• Why are Americans so angry about masks?
In the US, as in the UK, Covid-19 has become a racially charged issue as well. The
pandemic disproportionately affects people from black and other ethnic minority
backgrounds.
The refusal of some people to acknowledge the risks associated with the virus,
and to be shielded from these risks by their white privilege, has also been seen as
"Karen" behaviour.
 What about racism and Black Lives Matter?
On Memorial Day this year, 25 May, black birder Christian Cooper was walking in
Central Park, New York, when he ran into a woman called Amy Cooper (no
relation), who had let her dog off the lead in a leash-only area of the park.
He asked her to put her dog back on the lead. Her response was to call 911 and
tell operators that "there's an African-American man threatening my life". The
entire exchange was filmed, uploaded to social media, and Ms Cooper was from
then on known as "Central Park Karen".
George Floyd was killed by police officers in Minneapolis that same day, just hours
after the Central Park incident - meaning people began linking the racism of
"Karens" such as Amy Cooper to the wider issue of systemic racism and police
brutality.
Is the Karen meme sexist?
In April, British feminist Julie Bindel tweeted: "Does anyone else think the 'Karen'
slur is woman-hating and based on class prejudice?"
This is an argument that has been repeated in recent months, as the meme has
become more mainstream. Some people responded to Bindel's tweet agreeing
with her summary.
However, people who use the term "Karen" say that it is not simply a catch-all for
all middle-aged white women - and is, rather, dependent on a person's behaviour.
For example, writer Karen Geier - a Karen in the traditional sense - responded to
Bindel: "As the only Karen replying to you: No. If you have a problem being called
'a Karen' then don't be one? I don't call the police on people or ask to speak to the
manager. Very simple!»

Questions:
1. Who is Karen? What are the main characteristics of a stereotypical Karen
2. Why do you think a Karen meme has become so popular?
2. Do you consider it to be a sexist meme?
4. What will happen if you ever get called a Karen
5. Why do you think there isnt a non white Karen meme alternative? Does that mean that only white females
can be racist.