“Karen” has been the internet’s favorite archetype to hate for almost a decade, but that might be about to change.
Most people know what kind of person a “Karen” is by now: often middle-aged and rude to waiters and shop staff, with “I want to speak to the manager” and “I’m a paying customer” as her most reliable weapons. You’ve probably even witnessed a Karen in action, or worse – caught yourself behaving like one.
The term originated on Reddit circa 2018, and the archetype can also be identified by certain outer characteristics, such as short, layered haircuts with highlights and oversized sunglasses.
These days it’s less about looks and more about behavior, and Gen Z even has its own version for younger women who are apparently Jessicas.
The search for a name for men
Of course, people other than middle-aged (white) ladies with boldly highlighted haircuts can act entitled and degrading to service workers. Men just rarely get called out for it in the same way.
Dr. Apryl Williams, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan who researches race on the internet, spoke to Fatherly about this in 2020. She said memes had tried out names like Greg and Terry as the male Karens, but that at the end of the day, Ken was the most common choice.
Then 2023 and Ryan Gosling’s Ken in “Barbie” happened, and Ken stopped working as an insult. People joked about having “Kenergy” and patted themselves on the back for being “Kenough.”
What the reviews showed
Enter Trustpilot. The website looked at its data to find out which first names were behind the most complaints, according to Pedestrian. And the name that came out on top was not Greg, or Terry, or even Ken.
It was David.
People called David had written more one-star reviews than people with any other name. Most of the other names near the top of the list belonged to men as well. Sarah was the only woman’s name in the top 10, in seventh place. The next one, Emma, came in at number 14.
So going by Trustpilot, men were more likely to be Karens than women.
Whether people will actually start calling rude men “Davids” remains to be seen. Karen has been around for years, and one list from a review site probably isn’t going to change that.
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