Why Is There No Male Version Of A ‘Karen’?
Over the past few years, the moniker of ‘Karen’ has become more than just a forename.Today, it is typically associated with describing a middle-aged, middle class white woman who is naggy, complacent, and entitled. Some of your own friends may have even made jokes like ‘Don’t be a ‘Karen”, or “Okay, Karen”. Even though this seems like it is all meant in good fun, two critical questions must be asked when it comes to the term ‘Karen’.
First, is this a modernized derogatory term for today’s women? And if so, should it be condemned? Secondly, why is there no male version of a ‘Karen’?
What Constitutes a ‘Karen’?
According to Urban Dictionary, the most popular contemporary definition of ‘Karen’ defines a woman who “gives raisons to kids on Halloween”, “drives an SUV to carpool her kids to soccer practice...better hope the ref doesn’t make a wrong call because she will sue!”, loves “to use snapagram to post her workout selfies'’, and “after a long day of talking to managers and driving her kids around, she sits down with her mom friends at book club and drinks lots and LOTS of wine”.
Based upon this, popular definition allows us to believe that ‘Karen’, whoever and wherever she dwells, is a stay-at home mother who lives for arguing with managers in the service industry, is at whim to her children’s every need, attempts to ruin a favorite childhood holiday by not handing out super sugary items like the rest of her neighborhood, and can only make it through her ‘tiring’ day with the help of alcohol. Assumingly, this is a woman who has no career and is merely a pawn within the nuclear family archetype.
Now, we have to ask ourselves, are these stereotypical tropes of ‘Karen’ ideologically suppressing us as women?
We may fail to recognize the sexism and degradation associated with calling a fellow friend, mother, aunt, or cousin a ‘Karen’ because we have subconsciously internalized dominant societal norms surrounding our gender ourselves. We need to step back and analyze the term ‘Karen’ within a larger sociopolitical context to fully understand the terms’ detrimental implications.
Where did ‘Karen’ come from?
The antagonistic term, ‘Karen’, has two theories of origin. The first divested from a popular Mean Girls meme in the 2010s, which bore the tagline “Oh My God, Karen, You Can’t Just Ask Someone Why They’re White”, featuring, of course, the blonde, incompetent childlike figure of the infamous Karen Smith. The second theory stems from the 1989 gangster film, Goodfellas. In this film Karen Hill is a stay-at-home mother who dutifully obeys her husband, legendary mobster Henry Hill, through trials of infidelity and domestic violence. She was essentially at the mercy of her husband throughout the entire film, albeit having a fiesty, independent personality whenever her husband was not around.
However the ‘Karen’ of today manifested, the term is usually utilized in a negative, antagonistic way towards females. It is ironically used by both males and females, both of whom may not even be aware of the demeaning connotation behind the slang word.
Why is there no male version of a ‘Karen’?
This is a question we must also keep in mind. Why are we as a society targeting women and stereotypically degrading their image by using slang terms to justify further patriarchal oppression? Although the term itself may seem harmless, its intent is not.
Why is there no similar term for males? As of today, there is no stereotypical ‘John’, ‘Bill’, or even ‘Steve’.
These are questions we must ask ourselves in order to fully comprehend the implications of the term ‘Karen’. Since drafting this article, I have failed to discover a male equivalent to the term. One may abound in the future, however, we must still ask ourselves, ‘Why is there no male version of a ‘Karen’?’. This is where the seemingly-harmless term may get a little messy.
“Karen.” Urban Dictionary, 27 Nov. 2019, www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Karen.
