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Karen (to be a Karen)
DCHP-3 (Jan 2025)
Spelling variants:"Karen"
The form is usually a female-only form, though, if need be, the terms to be a Kevin or to be a Terry are available, though not (yet) conventionalized to any degree resembling to be a Karen.
Non-Canadianism
This is a word that our editors have determined is not a Canadianism.
expression — Slang, informal; Potentially very offensive, in all instances derogatory
a stereotype of a woman (man) who, of Caucasian origin, seems to prefer the life of yesteryear in terms of social hegemony.
Type: 5. Frequency — The expression to be a Karen is usually used to refer to a Caucasian woman who displays entitlement in various social situations without any awareness of positions of power, such as based in colonialism, that have served to her social group's advantage. While the term has been used in this context since at least 2018, it has been popularized from 2020 onwards through social media platforms like TikTok. At the time, it was common for Caucasian women who refused to wear masks during the Covid-19 pandemic to be labelled as "Karens" online (see second 2020 quotation).
While we consider the expression as North American, and thereby not Canadian in the sense of the six types of Canadianisms (Dollinger 2015c), Chart 1 suggests an increased usage in Canada, which, perhaps, might be owed to the recent renewed efforts of decolonization in this country.
While we classify the term as "North American" (a DCHP "dagger" term), it is possible for this expression to be considered Canadian if more emphasis is placed on the fact that the normalized internet frequencies are five times as high in Canada as in the US (see Charts 1 and 2).
The expression to be a Kevin and to be a Terry have been used to refer to men of Caucasian descent who display the same traits. However, unlike the term to be a Karen, the male names vary. Nonetheless, the term to be a Kevin is used notably in Canada and the UK (see Chart 2).
While we consider the expression as North American, and thereby not Canadian in the sense of the six types of Canadianisms (Dollinger 2015c), Chart 1 suggests an increased usage in Canada, which, perhaps, might be owed to the recent renewed efforts of decolonization in this country.
While we classify the term as "North American" (a DCHP "dagger" term), it is possible for this expression to be considered Canadian if more emphasis is placed on the fact that the normalized internet frequencies are five times as high in Canada as in the US (see Charts 1 and 2).
The expression to be a Kevin and to be a Terry have been used to refer to men of Caucasian descent who display the same traits. However, unlike the term to be a Karen, the male names vary. Nonetheless, the term to be a Kevin is used notably in Canada and the UK (see Chart 2).
Before roughly 2020, the term a Karen was exclusively used for an ethnic group in Burma (see the 1916 quotation).
Please note that the expression is offensive to any women with the first name Karen.
Quotations
1916
[Guns were issued to stockaded villages, a Karen levy was enrolled , fifty of whom were selected for active service and operated between Bassein and Thabaung, and there was also a Karen water militia which patrolled between Bassein and Ngaputaw, Myaungmya and Kanywa ...]
2018
[Karen wants to speak to your manager. Not a Karen, you understand, but all Karens. Every woman named Karen wants to speak to your manager, right now – and she’ll probably boast about her three kids whilst doing it.]
2020
Ottawa police are apologizing to a 21-year-old Black man and his family after a woman called 911 on him for refusing to move from a public bridge. [...] In the video, Bashizi called the woman in the video a "Karen." Bashizi said there were other people crossing the bridge, too, and the woman appeared to not take issue with them. Those passersby were "whispering and laughing 'Karen'" as they took in the scene, Bashizi said.
2020
It might be hard to make a “Karen” wear a mask, but you can wear her face as a mask this Halloween thanks to a U.S.-based artist.
2020
If you’ve been keeping up, you will know that Karen is the pandemic-inspired nomenclature of the (often) middle-aged, rude, intolerant, loud-mouthed, sloppy, vocally illiterate and otherwise loathsome woman who berates anyone unluckily enough to twist her knickers into a knot.
2021
She was a Karen. She was the no-fun police. She was infringing on the rights of good people who just want to enjoy a little fireworks show in the privacy of their own yards.
References
- Dollinger (2015c) • Article
Images
Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 23 January 2025
