From the woman who claimed to be a “sovereign” when asked to wear a mask during the pandemic in 2020, to the former property agent who was accused of filming MRT commuters, and directing racist and elitist remarks towards them in 2021, Singapore has had its fair share of “Karens” in recent years.
In the US, there were several high-profile cases of “Karens” calling the authorities on innocent people, belittling frontline workers, and throwing tantrums in public when they didn’t get their way.
While it’s perfectly acceptable to assert your rights and stand up for yourself, especially if you feel you’ve been unfairly or poorly treated, there’s a way to go about it without behaving like a “Karen” – that is, entitled, defiant, rude, obnoxious and insufferable.
“KAREN”: WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Its origins are blurry, but the Karen stereotype became popular in 2018, when people in the US began filming confrontations and incidents in which middle-aged, middle-class (and often Caucasian) women were perceived as acting entitled and racist in public. As these videos (and memes) made their rounds on social media, netizens assigned
