Over the past decade, “Karen” memes have FLOODED the internet. And don’t take MY word for it, just ask the manager. (???)
You get it by now: A “Karen” is filled with entitlement and privilege, any minor inconvenience turns into full-on victimhood, and there’s bonus points if she has a blonde, choppy, asymmetrical bob hairdo.
Some guys with similar characteristics have been called “male Karens.” But now there’s a NEW label for guys: JOSH.
A new report dug into the latest memes, and tried to define a “Josh.” Here’s a rundown:
1. He is apparently the bane of any white woman he’s dated.
2. He’s the man who insists he’s “just being honest” while actually being cruel.
3. If he’s ever in an argument, he will threaten to “pull up a study” to prove his point (though he never actually will).
4. And if he doesn’t already have a podcast, he’s thinking about starting one.
5. One meme says, “Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider, girls go to Mars to shine like a star, Josh goes to hell.”
6. And another says, “We are leaving all Joshes in 2025. Goodbye Josh.”
7. One business online even joked, “Anyone taking part in ‘no Josh’ January?”
So why Josh? There were memes trying to get “Chad” and “Ken” to take off, but both of those were caricatures that were different from the “Karen”-vibe.
One reason might be that Gen Z’ers love poking fun at Millennials, and Josh is a popular name for a Millennial man who is traditionally white. (From 1981 to 1996, an estimated 725,714 Joshes were born in the U.S.)
Will it stick? Who knows. One Josh who wrote about the trend says he’s “laughing about it now”, but he hopes it doesn’t stick, because he knows “how a name can affect your self-confidence.” Because his mom’s name is Karen.
