The Horror of Karen: Power, Entitlement and Cultural Spectacle

CLASS DESCRIPTION

Drawing from her zine The Horror of Karen, Chenoa Baker examines “Karen” not as an individual pathology or meme, but as a social figure produced at the intersection of patriarchy, whiteness, capitalism, and economic precarity. Rather than treating Karen as simply a villain, the session holds space for a difficult dual analysis. It explores how many women labeled as Karens are themselves constrained by patriarchal and capitalist systems, while also interrogating the real harm enacted through their public outbursts, particularly toward Black and brown, working class, and service sector workers.

The lecture traces how late stage capitalism reshapes public space, turning everyday environments such as shops, sidewalks, and customer service desks into stages for surveillance, spectacle, and entitlement. It argues that Karen behaviors become legible and effective only in proximity to patriarchal authority, such as police, store managers, or male partners, revealing how white femininity often operates as a conduit rather than a source of power. Through feminist, racial, and economic frameworks, the session situates Karen as a figure who polices boundaries of belonging while simultaneously being enclosed by the very systems she appeals to.

Students will leave with tools to critically analyze viral cultural figures, apply intersectional feminist theory to everyday encounters, and think more clearly about how power circulates through gendered performances in public life. The session invites discussion, reflection, and critical discomfort and may even equip participants with practical tools to recognize, deescalate, or disarm a Karen in real world situations.

ABOUT OUR LECTURER

Chenoa Baker (she/her) is an independent curator, adjunct, and arts writer. She has contributed to major exhibitions, including Gio Swaby: Fresh Up at the Peabody Essex Museum, Touching Roots: Black Ancestral Legacies in the Americas at the MFA/Boston, Simone Leigh at the ICA/Boston, and Simone Leigh: Sovereignty at the Venice Biennale. Through her experience, she specializes in African diasporic craftways. In recognition of her community-based curatorial work, she won the WBUR Maker Award in 2024 and was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered. Her next show is a retrospective of Ifé Franklin at the Fuller Craft Museum in 2027.

Similarly, her writing is internationally recognized. In 2023, she won the AICA Young Art Critics Prize and writes for Hyperallergic, The Observer, The Brooklyn Rail, Material Intelligence, and Studio Potter, among others. She's also known for "The Horror of Karen" zine that unpacks visual culture, feminism, and Marxism to understand why 'Karens' aren't born but made. To learn more, visit chenoabaker.org.

INSTAGRAM: @chenoa.e.baker
WEBSITE: https://www.chenoabaker.org/

We are committed to making our sessions as accessible as possible. If you are unable to pay the full amount for this class, please reach out to us via email at [email protected] and we will provide you with a discount code.