Mocking Barrys, Sharons, Karens and Chads isn’t inherently wrong, particularly when the type of behaviour being mocked is often harmful and problematic. Me: wow 3 kids… those are pretty damn permanent CAROL As for why middle-aged white men feature less often in these jokes (Barry is perhaps the only middle-aged male name consistently memed), Cameron says male names carry less social information because parents’ choices tend to be more stable over time. “Perhaps this type of woman is considered an acceptable butt for jokes about annoying women because she’s ‘generic’, there’s no race or class angle,” she says. Although in the Eighties “Sharon” and “Tracey” were marked as “chav” names (beginning in 1986, Keith Waterhouse wrote a column in the Daily Mail that made fun of checkout girls named Sharon and Tracey), Cameron speculates most of these meme names are seen as generic, as opposed to associated with a certain class. “I’m guessing these particular names have been chosen to say ‘middle aged (and possibly lower middle-class, neither TOWIE nor Made in Chelsea) white woman’,” theorises Cameron. Cameron explains that because popular girls’ names change more rapidly than boys’, female names are often a reliable indicator of age and generation, as well as sometimes class and race. “Names give social information,” explains Deborah Cameron, a feminist linguist and professor of Language and Communication at Oxford University. I have a legit reason to hate my name now, i just hate that whole “bye Felicia” thing, its not funny “I never really knew what they were meaning by that but part of me wonders if memes like these have kind of given people a stereotype of certain names.”īut when it comes down to it, just why is “Sharon” funnier than “Lisa”? What makes “Karen” the butt of the joke, but not “Betty”? What’s in a name? A meme by any other name would be as dank. McConnachie first became aware of “Sharon” memes when she joined social media a decade ago and discovered her name was a stereotype for a “soccer mom with a minivan that liked to complain in supermarkets.”Īs she grew older and met more people, McConnachie found they would often remark that she “didn’t look” like a Sharon. “None of these memes sat well with teenage me who was trying desperately to fit in amongst classmates,” says Sharon McConnachie, a 25-year-old from Scotland. Why do cunts go “mail me” when sumcunt asks about their new job? Nb Sandra you’re part time in Home Bargains no undercover wae the MI5īut how do the Jans, Chads, Janets, and Sharons of the world feel about the memeification of their names? While their experiences are obviously in no way comparable to people who face real-world, racially-motivated name discrimination, it is potentially frustrating to have a name that is part of pop culture. Events and Offers Sign up to receive information regarding NS events, subscription offers & product updates. Ideas and Letters A newsletter showcasing the finest writing from the ideas section and the NS archive, covering political ideas, philosophy, criticism and intellectual history - sent every Wednesday. Weekly Highlights A weekly round-up of some of the best articles featured in the most recent issue of the New Statesman, sent each Saturday. The Culture Edit Our weekly culture newsletter – from books and art to pop culture and memes – sent every Friday. Green Times The New Statesman’s weekly environment email on the politics, business and culture of the climate and nature crises - in your inbox every Thursday. The New Statesman Daily The best of the New Statesman, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. World Review The New Statesman’s global affairs newsletter, every Monday and Friday. Morning Call Quick and essential guide to domestic and global politics from the New Statesman's politics team. The Crash A weekly newsletter helping you fit together the pieces of the global economic slowdown. Sign up for The New Statesman’s newsletters Tick the boxes of the newsletters you would like to receive.
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