The Rise of the Karens
“I want to speak to the manager!” The words uttered by what meme culture refers to as ‘Karen.’
Karen, generally a middle-class white woman with a bob hairstyle is often seen arguing with retail staff, waiters, and anyone who displeases her, has a ‘live, laugh, love’ wall decal in her kitchen, and parades her children around.
During the COVID-19 period, we have seen Karen and Karen videos take off including video footage of those who believe it is unconstitutional to wear a facemask, or middle-aged white woman chanting racist slurs at people of colour.
The idea of the ‘Karen’ (not to be confused with women actually named Karen, who likely won’t fall into the stereotype — Karen by name and not by nature, if you will) has taken social media by storm. People feel connected with the concept of ‘Karen’ because many have seen entitled persons in their life, have worked in a retail position and dealt with difficult customers, or have been yelled at by a ‘Karen’.
Many people are able to relate or able to speak of a ‘Karen’ encounter. I feel like I have an endless list from my days working as a retail assistant and in daily life — conversations with accusations, threats of dissatisfaction, and generally uncalled for commentary.
Arguably the ‘Karen’ has taken off and many people have enjoyed the social media content is because many have experienced the ‘Karen’ in their lives. In Australia recently, the term has skyrocketed after a woman refused to wear a face mark in Melbourne which is currently going through a COVID19 — the media has referred to her as ‘Bunnings Karen’.
Society has made a stance that the ‘Karen’ is negative in our community.
The ‘Karen’ is the collective sigh when you see her approaching.
The ‘Karen’ is the coriander that ruins your taco.
The ‘Karen’ is the bone you almost choked on in your crispy-skinned salmon.
You are almost certain no matter what you do, it isn’t going to be good enough because ‘Karen’ is out on the town and she is ready to fire!
2020 has been a challenging year for many. Wild bushfires plaguing Australia, the Black Lives Matter movement which brought to the attention of many the pain that our black and people of colour friends have been suffering, and of course COVID-19 keeping us locked inside, changing how we live and killing people all over the world. However, the people have said no to bad attitudes, a foul mouth, and self-entitlement — we are taking a stand against the ‘Karen.’
The time is now to put a pause on being rude. There is so much going on in the world right now, there are far more important things than whether your cappuccino has two percent fat milk or skim. The ‘Karen’ and the revolt against this character in our world is because this type of behaviour is unacceptable.
We have to start treating others in a way that makes people feel valued, feel understood, and feel respected.
We need to consider our actions — what is it that we are doing and how would it affect other people? If we ask this question before doing something or speaking to people, would we say what we were about to say?
For me, I believe it comes down to impact. As individuals, we can make such a huge impact doing the simplest things. As a keynote speaker, I speak to emerging leaders about understanding the truly amazing impact they may have on others and through their careers or commitments.
What some people may not understand is that the things we say, how we act, and what we do can follow you for a long time. Rather than being the ‘Karen’ and causing anger and dread wherever you go, communicate in a considered way. It doesn’t cost you a thing to be a half-decent human.
I’d like to conclude with a quote:
People won’t remember what you said, or what you did, they will remember how you made them feel — Maya Angelou
About the author:
Theo Kapodistrias is a multi-national award-winning lawyer and keynote speaker. He holds leadership positions in the not-for-profit sector and is considered a thought-leader in the legal environment. He is passionate about being involved in the community and holds several voluntary positions. He recently launched his keynote speaker business helping individuals to be seen, be heard, and make an impact www.theokap.com.au
