Stop Saying Karen

Proof “Karen” Was Never “Just a Joke.” People keep saying, “It’s not about women named Karen.” But every Halloween costume tells the truth — because every costume literally says, “HELLO, MY NAME IS KAREN.” If it wasn’t about the name, if it wasn’t about the identity, then why is the NAME written on the shirt, the cup, the tag, the jersey, the badge? You can’t insist it’s “not about actual women named Karen” — and then literally play-act as if you’re mocking a woman named Karen for laughs. One radio host literally dressed as “Karen” and wrote: “no disrespect to the lovely Karens” right before mocking Karen as a villain, a troll, a complainer, and then ending her post with the words: “Shut up Karen.” They say it’s not about real women named Karen — but they name the stereotype Karen, they put “Hello my name is Karen” on the costume itself, and then they claim “no offense” right before the punchline. It doesn’t get more hypocritical than that. And now it’s not just adults doing it. Parent...

Turning a woman’s name into a Halloween costume isn’t clever — it’s cruelty hiding behind a laugh. Every wig, smirk, and “costume” says the same thing: society feels entitled to mock a real name — and by extension, the real women who carry it — while pretending it’s harmless because it’s labeled as humor. But “Karen” isn’t a costume — it was created to dehumanize women. It turned a real woman’s name into trash, and now it’s being passed down to children as a “joke.” Today, there are pics all over social media of people in wigs and name tags being worn with pride — and even little girls being filmed on Instagram pretending to be a “Karen.” Adults applaud it. They call it funny. They call it cute. What they’re really celebrating is the loss of empathy — the idea that mockery is entertainment. Women who are actually named Karen have been grieving what feels like the death of their name for years. What used to be something to say with pride has been turned into something to be made to feel...