Karen
I'm just wondering, do you think Karen is still usable?
It is a tiny bit dated (not as much as other names of that generation) but that doesn't bother me.
However, "Karen" seems to have become a term for an entitled, annoying, demanding person (used everywhere, especially on twitter).
The wiki entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_(slang)
I don't like Karen enough to use, but I was just wondering. Do you think it will become completely unusable or already is?
I honestly feel bad for all the women actually named Karen these days.
It is a tiny bit dated (not as much as other names of that generation) but that doesn't bother me.
However, "Karen" seems to have become a term for an entitled, annoying, demanding person (used everywhere, especially on twitter).
The wiki entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_(slang)
I don't like Karen enough to use, but I was just wondering. Do you think it will become completely unusable or already is?
I honestly feel bad for all the women actually named Karen these days.
Replies
Nope. I wouldn't use it.
I've always really liked it (along with the spelling Keren), but yeah I think it's kind of unusable right now. Which is too bad. I like it a lot better than most of the other names from that era. I wish they'd picked a different dated name to pick on, lol.
I think it's usable because the meme will fade. I like Karen and feel sorry right now for bearers.
I don't think it's usable anymore, and I don't think it will be for quite some time.
I’m pretty neutral to the name, but I hate the meme. I feel bad for anyone named Karen.
I had always liked the name Karen, thought it was pretty (and really mostly associated it with the Babysitter Club Little Sister books from back in the day), but yeah I think it's pretty unusable these days. I can't hear the name and not think of it's slang meaning these days. I even find myself internally calling people 'Karens' these days.
I will say I always liked Kara a lot more, which is very similar to Karen. I'm wondering if that name is even still usable or if it's just too close to Karen.
I will say I always liked Kara a lot more, which is very similar to Karen. I'm wondering if that name is even still usable or if it's just too close to Karen.
Meh. It just seems dated to me, and the meme has definitely ruined it beyond use.
My mother likes saying, "Don't be a Karen." To her, Karen is surburban, boring, dull, maybe a little dumb. What can I say? She went to high school with a lot of them back in the mid seventies. This is something she even said in the late nineties, as I grew up. Personally I like the name, but it is a little dated by now, and my mom might disown me, should I name a future child Karen.
But I don't believe it is unusable.
Hate
Even before the name's association with aggressively myopic white ladies was born, I hated the name. It feels like a pair of sounds rather than a name.
Even before the name's association with aggressively myopic white ladies was born, I hated the name. It feels like a pair of sounds rather than a name.
Do you think it's unusable?
Oh, it's definitely usable. I just have always loathed it.
I think Karen is unusable at this time, but I also feel that it was way more than "a tiny bit" dated before it became a term for an entitled, annoying, demanding woman, so wasn't being used much anyway.
I agree wholeheartedly with your last sentence. This whole Karen thing annoys me.
I agree wholeheartedly with your last sentence. This whole Karen thing annoys me.
This message was edited 7/2/2020, 7:10 AM
This issue has been discussed a lot on this board lately.
I don't think it's really that much of an issue; Karen has been so common for so long and across such a wide range of ages and ethnicities that this Karen meme is not going to be the only reason people know about the name. It will likely become a dated meme soon anyway, the way memes come and go.
I attended an eighth-grade graduation last year, and out of a not very big class, there were I think two or three Karens; it was a mostly Hispanic class so apparently Karen is popular in that demographic, or at least was 15 years ago; so it is definitely still seen on younger people.
I don't think it's really that much of an issue; Karen has been so common for so long and across such a wide range of ages and ethnicities that this Karen meme is not going to be the only reason people know about the name. It will likely become a dated meme soon anyway, the way memes come and go.
I attended an eighth-grade graduation last year, and out of a not very big class, there were I think two or three Karens; it was a mostly Hispanic class so apparently Karen is popular in that demographic, or at least was 15 years ago; so it is definitely still seen on younger people.
Thanks for the interesting article.. I never said it was sexist or racist to call someone a Karen and I don't think that it is. My actual question was whether you think it is still usable as a name as it has become so popular as a meme.
I think so. This woman, named Karen, explores why it is not a slur. And therefore, if you wanted to use it, it is fine.
Just because it isn't a slur that doesn't mean that people can't have a negative image of it. The term is strongly associated with an annoying, intolerant, demanding personality and it has become a slang word in every day conversations.