Karen Memes

Karens are having a rough year. Over the past few months, the “Karen” meme that started out as mocking a fairly specific brand of white woman — an anti-vaxxer mom with an entitlement complex and “can I speak to the manager” hair — has undergone several rapid transitions. The name “Karen” has subsequently become virtually synonymous with more than just annoyed moms. Now, “Karen” is a stand-in for 2020’s fraught social politics.

Karens are having a rough year. Over the past few months, the “Karen” meme that started out as mocking a fairly specific brand of white woman — an anti-vaxxer mom with an entitlement complex and “can I speak to the manager” hair — has undergone several rapid transitions. The name “Karen” has subsequently become virtually synonymous with more than just annoyed moms. Now, “Karen” is a stand-in for 2020’s fraught social politics.

Each iteration of the meme has taken the “Karen” figure in a considerably different direction from its original satirical form — a barbed but humorous caricature of entitled white women. While the meme’s meaning was still somewhat malleable during the first months of the pandemic, the national conversation around Black Lives Matter protests rapidly changed what many people meant by “Karen.”

As the protests continue and political debate rages on, the Karen’s newly evolved association with white supremacy shows no sign of loosening, nor does the meme look like it will revert to its original, mostly innocuous form.

And now, we need to talk about Karen. Again...................

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-karen-became-a-watchword-for-racism/ar-BB170COj?ocid=msedgntp