If you’re wondering why you are seeing a lot of the “Eat shit, Karen” meme on the internet and you’re left clueless, you are not alone. I don’t pretend to be smart that’s why I browse the internet to find where it came from and its origin. I stumbled on the Wikipedia, and here’s what I learned.
According to the Wikipedia page, the term was used, during the COVID-19 outbreak, to describe behaviors of feeling entitled women who would passive-aggressively enforce quarantine, as well as those abusing Asian-American health workers due to the virus’s origins in China.
The meme also manifested in different ways during different stages in the pandemic, said the website’s page.
Prior to the announcement of local epidemics, Karen was used to also describe those hoarding essential supplies such as toilet paper, and as quarantine restrictions continued throughout April and May 2020, the term saw use to describe those same people who protested the continuance of the restrictions because they prevented them visiting hair salons.
The “Eat shit, Karen” shout out was also used by a popular mall restaurant here in the Philippines and it gained quite a few responses.
BAD BIRD included the meme on their Facebook post after they saw a mask-less tita “calling a security guard ignorant as she was being denied entry to the mall.”
Please refer to the content below.
To continue, the media began focusing on the usage of the term after it was used in the context of a recent video that went viral depicting a confrontation between a white woman, Amy Cooper, and a black man, Christian Cooper (no relation), in Central Park which occurred on May 25, 2020. Christian said he approached Amy and asked her to leash her dog, as she was in the Ramble, a part of the park restricted for birdwatching.
Amy was recorded calling the assistance of the police and telling them that an “African-American man” is “threatening [her] life.” You can see in the video that Christian was several feet away from hers.
At the end of the recording, Amy leashes her dog, at which point Christian said the interaction ended. Police arrived shortly after the two had left but took no action.
WATCH: Video of the white woman dubbed as “Central Park Karen” below.
Amy’s note of Christian’s race and her exaggerated claims were widely criticized and interpreted as reflecting negative racial attitudes towards African Americans. It also led some commentators to controversially dub her “Central Park Karen”, which was followed by scrutiny of that term.
The next day, Amy Cooper was fired by her employer.
The name-calling of ‘Karen‘ is a prejorative term for a person perceived to be entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is considered appropriate or necessary. A common stereotype is that of a white American middle-aged woman who displays aggressive behavior when prevented from getting her way; such women are often depicted as demanding to “speak to the manager”, and of having a particular bob cut hairstyle.
The Karen archetype carries several stereotypes that are common to the “airhead subculture”, the most notable is the stereotype that a Karen will demand to “speak with the manager” of a hypothetical service provider.
Other stereotypes include anti-vaccination beliefs, racism against black people, use of Facebook and a particular bob haircut with blonde highlights (pictures of Kate Gosselin during the airing of Kate Plus 8 were used in earlier memes about a “can-I-speak-to-your-manager haircut”).
I guess, it’s not a good time now if you’re name is Karen. It’s too bad that the name Karen has a negative connotation associated with it.
That is unless, “ikaw ang paboritong apo ni lolo!”
Here’s another video of a Karen.
