Florida State University uses KKK pic in flyer to promote 'History of Karen' class on 'White womanhood'
This summer, Florida State University will offer a class to its students which will explore the “History of Karen: Weaponizing White Womanhood”. The course is set to start from June 21, 2021, and will go on for more than a month till July 30.
It will reportedly focus on a syllabus of books including 'Hood Feminism' by Mikki Kendall, 'Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud: The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Woman' by Anne Helen Peterson, and 'Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower' by Brittney Cooper. A flyer for the class, which is hosted by Dr Meghan Martinez, shows women of the Ku Klux Klan and an emoji with the stereotypical “can I speak to a manager” haircut.
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The flyer also features a quote from The New York Times columnist Charles Blow, which says, "The activation of white terror is a white woman’s soft power. We like to masculinize white supremacy, to presume it reeks of testosterone, when in fact, it is just as likely to be spritzed by perfume."
Who is Meghan Martinez?
Meghan Martinez, who is hosting the class, works as an assistant history professor with the university. According to the university's official website, she "was born and raised in Miami, Florida. She graduated with her B.A. from Florida State University in 2006, where she double majored in American History and English Literature. She continued her graduate studies at Florida State, receiving her M.A. (2008) and Ph.D (2018) in African American history, specializing in racial violence and lynching in the early 20th century. She primarily researches the history of racial violence and racial inequality in the US and its legacies."
"Her current work focuses on racial violence and historical memory in north Florida in the 1920s. She is an enthusiastic supporter of Florida State’s sports and arts programs and a long suffering Miami Dolphins fan."
What exactly is 'Karen' used for?
According to a BBC story, the "predominant feature of the "Karen" stereotype is that they weaponize their relative privilege against people of colour - for example, when making police complaints against black people for minor or even - in numerous cases - fictitious infringements."
According to Know Your Meme, the 'Karen' joke was first posted on Reddit in 2014. Between 2016 and 2017, that idea began to spread throughout Reddit and spawned other images, including "starter pack" memes. Many people associate the use of Karen in a pejorative sense with the film 'Mean Girls', which was released in 2004. The movie's line "Oh, my God, Karen — you can't just ask people why they're white" has been used as a meme over the years. Still, the Karen meme wouldn't become popular until a decade later. The subreddit r/F---YouKaren was created in 2017, according to Know Your Meme, where it has amassed more than 1M members.