Paranoid Karens have new bogey-targets for their paranoid fantasies.
You're behind the times, my friend:
Gen Z picks its own ‘Karen’ name: Sorry, ‘Jessica.’
Over the past decade or so, the name “Karen” has become widely known as a derogatory slang moniker: often used online to refer to an older woman — typically white — who insert themselves into situations they’re not involved in. The term came about due to an influx of viral videos and reports of “Karens” demanding to speak to store managers and/or calling police on people of color for innocuous reasons.
But like Millennials themselves, the Millennial-coined phrase/meme is getting a little long in the tooth. The proof? Gen Z is now proliferating its own version of “Karen,” aimed at younger Gen Xers and older Millennials. For Millennials, “Karens” are typically Baby Boomers and older Gen Xers.
The newest iteration of “Karen,” according to Gen Z users of TikTok and other social media sites, is “Jessica” — a name that’s popular among both Gen X and Millennial women. Though the Gen Z debate over the name (another popular option is “Ashley”) began around the summer of last year, the joke finally landed into older people’s feeds in late December. (Hence this article).
One of the most popular TikToks regarding “Jessicas” comes from user junkmotherjess, who relayed a thread she’d seen debating the topic and that, “One of [the comments] said, ‘Jessica and I just know she’s a nurse.'”
https://ktla.com/news/gen-z-picks-its-own-karen-name-sorry-jessica/