Various posts and memes about social media ‘Karens’ have surfaced recently on various video-sharing platforms. Karens, as has been officially defined, is a terminology used to describe a woman who shows excessive, inappropriate, and unnecessary entitlement or formidability. It is actually the first time that this kind of behavior has been given a ‘name’, albeit the prevalence of this behavior in the US for decades.

Based on the videos that went viral on the internet, there are two things that really tick off ‘Karens’. The first is the wearing of facemasks in public. The second issue Karens usually escalate is related to bigotry – be it gender, religion, race, or even age. White woman entitlement and racism were never put into highlight before, especially since hyper-focusing on these behaviors from women (White women specifically) is usually branded as sexist and racist.

The pandemic, added to the discussions of racial equality and police brutality, highlights how entitlement culture affects the American community. Because of this, Karen-spotting has become a national past time since the start of the pandemic. Here are a few of the most viral ‘Karens’ that was snuffed out and canceled widely on social media: [Read more…]