At the risk of angering the Jessicas of the world, I regretfully reveal that the name has replaced Karen to become the one most likely to speak to a manager among millennials.
If your name is Jessica, it’s not too late to turn back.
The Karen-to-Jessica pipeline comes thanks to a bunch of netizens who’ve taken to social media in recent weeks to declare that Karen is cancelled, with her younger sister quickly taking her place and assuming all her worst qualities in the process.
Viral Reddit threads have rushed to crown their new queen and TikTokers have debated ad nauseam about Karen’s replacement for the generation after Baby Boomers. “I’ve never met a Jessica that wasn’t a Karen,” one TikToker wrote, while another said Jessica was “the first name I thought of”.
The Karen-to-Jessica pipeline explained
By now you’re probably aware that the new consensus isn’t exactly a compliment. Taking off in 2019, ‘Karen’ has been used as an insult describing a middle-aged person whose privilege and entitlement causes her to behave in unpleasant ways. That’s putting it mildly.
Some versions of Karen might have a haircut like Kelly Hyland from Dance Moms. Others might refuse to wear a COVID mask. But almost all of them will treat service workers terribly, and demand to speak to your boss when you somehow fuck up their order.
The internet reckons these traits are also true of Jessicas, just for a younger generation. That means a Jessica might vent her frustrations online while a Karen does so IRL. But by and large, they’re cut from the same cloth… according to social media (don’t @ me, Jess!).
It goes without saying, but this is a blanket statement that of course does not apply to all people named Jessica. You’re just as likely to be accosted by someone named Tiffany or stood up by a guy named Chad, but there’s at least a little science behind the Jessica trend.
In the US, the name Jessica was the most popular for five years from 1985 to 1990, which puts it in prime position to replace the also-popular Karen that came the generation before. I’m no mathematician, but the more Jessicas there are, the more likely at least one of them will irk you.
Still, Jessicas aren’t reacting kindly to the digital pile-on. Perhaps trying to dodge the allegations, one stressed to PEDESTRIAN.TV that she “is not a Jessica. I’m a Jessie.”
“But even if I was, I’d just like to say: what are you going to do about it?” Jessica/Jessie said.
Yep, classic Jessica behaviour.
To try and get all Jessicas back on my side, I’ll leave you with a list of lovely ones who surely prove this is just the internet losing its mind: Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jessica Chastain, Jessica Lange, Jessica Simpson.
I could go on, but I don’t want any Karens complaining that I’m taking too long.
Lead images: Lifetime and Reddit
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