In the criminal justice system, white tears are considered especially delicate. In 2020, the dedicated group who utilize these desperate tactics are members of an elite squad known as the Karens. These are their stories.
In early April, journalist Julie Bindel dominated the Twitter-sphere when she suggested that the word “Karen” is a derogatory term used to denote misogyny and “class prejudice.” Another Twitter user named Emilly Swaven, who turned out to be a spammer, went on to state that the word Karen is “stronger than the n-word.” Bindel’s tweet got support from some and backlash from others.
Yes – it’s sexist, classist and ageist, in that order
— Hadley Freeman (@HadleyFreeman) April 5, 2020
Before I get into how Bindel and her merry band of misguided Apple Theta Pie sisters are misinforming the masses, let’s talk about what a “Karen” is. In an attempt to protect the fragility of her Gloria Steinem idolizing comrades who probably “don’t see color” and tote around that cheap ass Bath and Body Works hand sanitizer, Bindel has karen-ed. A “Karen” is a white woman who weaponizes her white privilege to wield against Black people when she feels that her bubble of entitlement is in danger of being burst. At the same time, Karens have the uncanny ability to flip the script and make everything about themselves, positioning their sacred white womanhood as the victim.
These creatures have been known to phone the police on Black children selling lemonade and transform into human blockades for Black residents attempting to enter their apartments. The insufferable little scoundrels can usually be found apologizing for their actions when they suffer the consequences for their bad behavior. While it may be easy to think the Karen population is made up of only regular, shmegular white women, these gangsters have been known to infiltrate Hollywood too. Take the 2015 Twitter misunderstanding between Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift for example.
When Nicki Minaj called attention to the fact that women who don’t fall on the slim spectrum, don’t receive MTV Video Music Award nominations, our favorite “songbird Karen” took offense. Swift responded to the Queens rapper, stating that she had done nothing but love and support Minaj and it was unlike the rapper to pit women against each other. Minaj was trying to call out MTV's discriminatory practice and Swift was karening.
this taylor swift and nicki minaj exchange is just one big metaphor for how white feminism really works
— Huda Hassan (@_hudahassan) July 21, 2015
Now, I have a few concerns with the insinuation that “Karen” is a slur that could be more severe than the n-word. Joking or not, statements like this are dangerous because they imply that the white tears these women shed when they aren’t satisfied is synonymous with the centuries of oppression that is attached to the n-word. Secondly, if we’re really going to take the route of considering the term Karen to be “women hating” and an erasure of women’s rights, then we’d be beat to the punch — white feminism has already done this to Black women.
Due to the intersections of race and class, society perceives Black women as second-class citizens in comparison to the Karens of their time. It is almost expected for these specific blue-eyed hooligans to convert any conversation centered on Black women’s empowerment into an allegorical stage to voice how they are somehow harmed by the societal structures that they’ve immortalized. The #MeToo movement, while founded by a Black woman, was whitewashed by wealthy white women, completely ignoring the struggles of the women that it was created to bring attention to. How dare Karens live an entire life laced with privilege to even consider that their voices have not been heard? Especially when they’re busy oppressing others.
When Karens aren’t working to dismantle Black excellence, they’re working to overstep the next “Karen” in an effort to grab any straw in the box that signifies they might be less mediocre than their homegirl, Becky. I’ll never forget when one of my former colleagues, a staunch Hillary supporter, stood up in a staff meeting to declare that she would no longer support films that depict violence against women. The very next day, “Karen” took it upon herself to inform everyone within hearing range that another woman in our workplace should be ashamed of herself for coming to work in casual and comfortable clothes.
This same “Karen” with the big mouth, likely related to Becky with the good hair, was featured gossiping about a Black student. No big deal, right? Wrong. The subject of this slander involved her eavesdropping on our Black intern conversing with his friend on the benefits of him limiting his marijuana usage. She may have thought it was funny but this could have cost him his internship and led to an excess of unwanted circumstances. It should also be noted that “Karens” don’t always appear in their snake-like form, but sometimes as allies.
Maybe we can all come to a consensus that we’ve encountered the destructive tendencies of a “Karen” more times than we’d like to remember. These women are deviant, cowardly vessels of white supremacy masked behind genuine feelings of superiority. These fake ass Vera Bradley ambassadors should be held in the same contempt as murderers and thieves. If you ever come across a “Karen,” run — your life might depend on it.
