Language reflects culture, reinforces power, and often reveals truths that society would rather leave unspoken. It has long been used as a quiet weapon, and for women the insults may change with the times, but the intention remains the same: to diminish women and keep them in their place. Words do not exist in a vacuum; they shape how behaviour is interpreted, whose voices are legitimised, and whose discomfort is dismissed, and this is especially true when language is used to police women’s behaviour in public and private spaces.
The term “Karen” did not begin as a feminist issue. Originally, it was used by a comedian to describe a very specific type of behaviour associated with a particular woman, someone loud, obnoxious, overly entitled, and occasionally aggressive in public. In its early use, the label was meant to target a narrow personality type rather than an entire gender, and it was framed as commentary on behaviour rather than an attack on women as a group. But language evolves, and sometimes that evolution turns language into a weapon rather than a descriptor.
Very quickly, “Karen” stopped describing genuinely rude or entitled behaviour and became something far broader, a universal shorthand used to mock or shame women any time they speak up, ask questions, set boundaries, or assert themselves. A woman seeking clarification, enforcing a limit, refusing to be dismissed, or advocating for herself or others can all be reduced to the same label, regardless of how calmly or reasonably she behaves. The behaviour no longer needs to be aggressive or unreasonable; the simple act of a woman taking up space is often enough to trigger the insult, and notably, there is no equivalent male name that functions in the same way.
Importantly, women themselves also use this term, and they are not exempt from participating in the shutting down and policing of other women. Internalised misogyny plays a role here, as women absorb the same cultural scripts and power structures as men, sometimes deploying the label to distance themselves from behaviours that are socially punished in women. When women use “Karen” against other women, it does not neutralise the harm; it reinforces the same boundaries around acceptable femininity and helps maintain the very system that restricts women’s voices in the first place.
Some argue that the term cannot be sexist because men are now also called “Karens,” but this actually exposes the deeper problem rather than disproving it. There is no male equivalent insult, so when a man behaves badly, the language used to condemn him is still female. The insult often lands harder when directed at men and is typically reserved for situations where a man is genuinely obnoxious or rude, unlike its use against women, where it is frequently weaponised simply because a woman spoke up or asserted herself. Calling a man a “Karen” carries an added layer of misogyny, implying that being like a woman is shameful, that femininity is embarrassing, and that a man acting “like a woman” is behaving beneath his gender. This turns the term into a double-edged slur, one that silences women while simultaneously shaming men by comparing them to women, reinforcing the idea that womanhood itself is inferior.
In practice, this means women are punished for speaking up even when they are calm, reasonable, or justified, while men are punished by being feminised, which relies on the belief that femininity is something to be ridiculed. At its core, calling a man a “Karen” depends on the assumption that the worst thing you can call a man is a woman, and that assumption reveals exactly why the term has been so effective and so damaging.
The insult persists because it draws on deep and familiar cultural stereotypes, portraying women as nagging, irrational, overreactive, or difficult the moment they assert themselves. It is a modern expression of an ancient script, one that insists women should remain quiet, agreeable, and non-confrontational, and that if they do not, they deserve mockery. What began as commentary on entitlement has morphed into a widely accepted tool of social control, one that works to silence women, undermine their confidence, discourage them from speaking up, and ridicule them for doing anything perceived as “too much.”
It is misogyny packaged as humour — a joke that punishes women for stepping out of line
Infemism 
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