The internet simply makes them more apparent. Names like ‘BBQ Becky,’ ‘Permit Patty,’ and ‘Karen’ fall into the realm of cultural signifiers - a shorthand of sorts that has always existed. It’s a snapshot of a conversation happening. A meme is highly representative of the entire state of American culture at any given point in time. So while they are memes and they are funny, the word meme comes from “memetic.” It’s a shorthand for a lot of layers of culture. And not just black people, but people of color and also white people who believe in and support this idea that casual racism upholds white supremacy. So, to say, “Oh, they’re just memes,” really discounts the perspective of an entire group of people. Memes are a reflection of that socialization process and also people pushing back against this racism. The things that happen on it are just an extension of our everyday lives. The internet is a mirror for our society. What would you say to people who are dismissive of internet memes as meaningful indicators of culture or cultural direction? What’s your response to ‘Oh, these are just memes’? Her theory, based on an analysis of nearly 100,000 tweets, suggests that racist narratives are deeply internalized and woven into the fabric of American culture.įatherly spoke to Williams about her research, how to make sense of memes as an act of resistance, and what it means to be a Ken, the male version of a Karen. Williams, who may be the only scholar whose given this subject its due time, explains why this is the case and why the internet (and Black Twitter in particular) seem to let Kens (the male equivalent of a Karen) off easy. However, while Karens are burned at the stake online, their male counterparts are often let off the hook. “The thing that I love about it as a tool is that the memes highlight the everyday power of whiteness.”Īlthough humorous, the Karen memes address important social issues that have only recently come to a boil in the current political landscape: namely, white privilege, which is lived and exploited, oftentimes unwittingly, by white women and men everywhere. Apryl Williams, an assistant professor at University of Michigan and Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard who broadly studies race on the internet, says of the Karening of Twitter. “It’s a snapshot of a conversation happening,” Dr.
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