History Main / ObnoxiousEntitledHousewife

* In the early seasons of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark,'' Kyle's mom Sheila Broflovski was prone to picking fights and starting campaigns against anything she found [[ThinkOfTheChildren offensive to her children.]] This reaches its apex in ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'' when she starts a full-blown war with Canada because they produced the vulgar ''Terrance and Philip'' movie.

* Website/{{Reddit}} has the [[https://www.reddit.com/r/FuckYouKaren/ "Fuck You Karen"]] subreddit, which originated as a series of memes about an obnoxious ex-wife and is now dedicated to memes about the entitled, argumentative suburban mom stereotype. Many of these kinds of people also feature in stories from subreddits like [[https://www.reddit.com/r/EntitledParents/ "Entitled Parents"]], [[https://www.reddit.com/r/IDontWorkHereLady/ "I Don't Work Here, Lady"]], and [[https://www.reddit.com/r/ChoosingBeggars "Choosing Beggars"]].

* ''WebVideo/TheTake'' looks a the Karen trope [[https://youtu.be/YSkYlJxWVrk here.]]

This entitlement may manifest as bigotry, either [[InnocentBigot unintentional]] or by deliberately {{profiling}} people who don't fit her standards of beauty, look different from her, are part of a subculture that confuses her, or otherwise irritate her for any other reason. She makes extravagant purchases to appear very well-off and show off whatever wealth she thinks she has, and will often [[UnsatisfiableCustomer fight retail workers over the price of whatever she's buying]]. She is usually paired with a HenpeckedHusband who has given up on trying to calm her down. If she's not openly combative, she's at the very least extremely passive-aggressive, posing as kind and neighborly while judging all the other women in the neighborhood that don't live up to her standards. For some reason, she often has short hair, usually a bob. [[Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible Despite the title]], she may not be married, and she may even have a job outside the house, but most examples are privileged housewives since they have enough time on their hands to meddle in everybody's affairs.

* Website/{{Reddit}} has the [[https://www.reddit.com/r/FuckYouKaren/ "Fuck You Karen"]] subreddit, which originated as a series of memes about an obnoxious ex-wife and is now dedicated to memes about the entitled, argumentative suburban mom stereotype. Many of these kinds of people also feature in stories from subreddits like [[https://www.reddit.com/r/EntitledParents/ "Entitled Parents"]] and [[https://www.reddit.com/r/IDontWorkHereLady/ "I Don't Work Here, Lady"]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' Helen Lovejoy is characterized as this, especially after {{Flanderization}}; while she was originally characterized as Revered Lovejoy's nagging wife, nowadays she is an annoying woman who always [[GossipyHens goes out of her way to get dirt on other people's lives]], especially Marge's, for no reason other than [[ItAmusedMe because she wants to]]. Helen is also quick to demand for things to be banned if she finds them offensive with the argument to ThinkOfTheChildren (while ignoring that [[{{Hypocrite}} her own daughter is a huge troublemaker]]) and the few times she does something nice for others [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk it is only for her own benefit]].
* In early seasons of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark,'' Kyle's mom Sheila Broflovski was prone to picking fights and starting campaigns against anything she found [[ThinkOfTheChildren offensive to her children.]] This reaches its apex in ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'' when she starts a full-blown war with Canada because they produced the vulgar ''Terrance and Philip'' movie.

This entitlement may manifest as bigotry, either [[InnocentBigot unintentional]] or by deliberately {{profiling}} people who don't fit her standards of beauty, look different from her, are part of a subculture that confuses her, or otherwise irritate her for any other reason. She tends to be well-off and makes extravagant purchases to show off her family's wealth, but will still [[UnsatisfiableCustomer fight retail workers over the price of whatever she's buying]]. She is usually paired with a HenpeckedHusband who has given up on trying to calm her down. If she's not openly combative, she's at the very least extremely passive-aggressive, posing as kind and neighborly while judging all the other women in the neighborhood that don't live up to her standards. For some reason, she often has short hair, usually a bob. [[Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible Despite the title]], she may not be married, and she may even have a job outside the house, but most examples are privileged housewives since they have enough time on their hands to meddle in everybody's affairs.

This entitlement may manifest as bigotry, either [[InnocentBigot unintentional]] or by deliberately {{profiling}} people who don't fit her standards of beauty. She tends to be well-off and makes extravagant purchases to show off her family's wealth, but will still [[UnsatisfiableCustomer fight retail workers over the price of whatever she's buying]]. She is usually paired with a HenpeckedHusband who has given up on trying to calm her down. If she's not openly combative, she's at the very least extremely passive-aggressive, posing as kind and neighborly while judging all the other women in the neighborhood that don't live up to her standards. For some reason, she often has short hair, usually a bob. [[Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible Despite the title]], she may not be married, and she may even have a job outside the house, but most examples are privileged housewives since they have enough time on their hands to meddle in everybody's affairs.

This type of [[AlwaysFemale woman]] is an AlphaBitch in adulthood: invariably white and heterosexual, most often upper-middle-class (or at least desires to be ''seen'' as such), and [[ItsAllAboutMe feeling entitled to have the entire world suit her needs and preferences]]. She likes to be heavily involved in local politics, such as the PTA, the homeowners' association, or the neighborhood watch. She will go out of her way to [[SpoiledBrat complain at the slightest provocation or inconvenience]], no matter how much it embarrasses or delays everyone else.

--> it conjured up miserable images of hair in rollers, long afternoons in front of the ironing board in front of the soap operas while hubby was off busting heavies in an anonymous Office; of joining the P.T.A. and then the country club when their income moved into five figures; of pills in circular yellow cases without number to insure against having to move out of the misses' size before it became absolutely necessary and against the intrusion of repulsive little strangers who shat in their pants and screamed for help at two in the morning; of fighting with desperate decorum to keep the n--- out of Kleen Korners, standing shoulder to shoulder with Terri Smith (Miss Potato Blossom of 1975) and Vicki Jones (Vice President of The Women's League), armed with signs and petitions and sweet, slightly desperate smiles.

This type of [[AlwaysFemale woman]] is an AlphaBitch in adulthood: invariably white and heterosexual, most often upper-middle-class, and [[ItsAllAboutMe feeling entitled to have the entire world suit her needs and preferences]]. She likes to be heavily involved in local politics, such as the PTA, the homeowners' association, or the neighborhood watch. She will go out of her way to [[SpoiledBrat complain at the slightest provocation or inconvenience]], no matter how much it embarrasses or delays everyone else.

** Bree was the first example. In a HappyMarriageCharade with her doctor husband Rex, Bree initially henpecks him, is obsessively clean, nosy, and is furious when her (spoiled, bordering on sociopathic) kids want to go to a restaurant rather than eat her home cooked food. She has extremely traditional values and doesn't take Andrew coming out as gay well, but she is also desperate to maintain her status within the neighborhood. After Rex's death, she became a more disorganized person as she became an alcoholic, but bounced back to a more "obnoxious" status after Danielle, her daughter, got pregnant and she tried to raise the baby as her own rather than admit the truth. From around Season 4 onwards, Bree loosened up and became more career-focused and slightly more openminded.

This type of [[AlwaysFemale woman]] is an AlphaBitch in adulthood: invariably white and heterosexual, most often upper-middle-class, and [[ItsAllAboutMe feeling entitled to have the entire world suit her needs and preferences]]. She likes to be heavily involved in local politics, such as the PTA, the homeowners' association, or the neighborhood watch. She will go out of her way to [[SpoiledBrat complain at the slightest provocation or inconvenience]], no matter how much it embarrasses or delays everyone else. This entitlement may manifest as bigotry, either [[InnocentBigot unintentional]] or by deliberately {{profiling}} people who don't fit her standards of beauty. She tends to be well-off and makes extravagant purchases to show off her family's wealth, but will still [[UnsatisfiableCustomer fight retail workers over the price of whatever she's buying]]. She is usually paired with a HenpeckedHusband who has given up on trying to calm her down. If she's not openly combative, she's at the very least extremely passive-aggressive, posing as kind and neighborly while judging all the other women in the neighborhood that don't live up to her standards. For some reason, she often has short hair, usually a bob. [[Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible Despite the title]], she may not be married, and she may even have a job outside the house, but most examples are privileged housewives since they have enough time on their hands to meddle in everybody's affairs.

-->'''Beatrice:''' The man sitting next to me was wearing a T-shirt, a T-shirt [=BoJack=], in the theater. The T-shirt told me to "just do it." I don't know to what "it" the T-shirt referred but I will not be spoken to in that tone by an article of clothing.

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[[quoteright:300:[[Webcomic/EnnuiGo https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/helencoffee.png]]]]

In real life, this is often referred to as a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soccer_mom "soccer mom"]]. Another slang term, "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_(pejorative) Karen]]," emerged in the late 2010s to describe obnoxious (and frequently racist) middle-aged white women. These terms are typically used in an unflattering matter, so '''no real life examples, please.'''

[[folder:Films - Animated]]

* The Sour Kangaroo is characterized as one of these in the 2008 animated film adaptation of ''Literature/HortonHearsAWho.'' Jane (as she is named here) is a FantasyForbiddingMother who insists on keeping her joey Rudy "pouch-schooled" and rallies the animals of Nool against Horton by invoking ThinkOfTheChildren.

[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]

* In ''{{Film/Peppermint}}'', the character Peg is introduced as a rich Girl Scout mom threatening to lodge a formal complaint against WorkingClassHero Riley over a parking spot.

* ''Series/ElChavoDelOcho'': Played with. Florinda lost most of her wealth once she became a widow, but tries to hide her own poverty by belittling her neighbours, showing contempt for the "riffraff lifestyle" and alienating others with her bossy and arrogant attitude.

* Alison's initial characterization in ''Series/OrphanBlack'' is a spiteful, petty StepfordSnarker housewife who would rather coach her kids' soccer games than deal with the clone conspiracy. Over time she [[TookALevelInKindness grows out of this]], to the point that she even starts calling out her neighbors for similar behavior.

* ''Series/LawAndOrder'': The VillainOfTheWeek in the episode "Driven" was a gentrifier who spent all her time filing nuisance suits against her black neighbors. She forced her son to get into a fight with his teammate on the soccer team and then pulled him off the team when the coach benched him for it. She forced her sons and a friend of theirs to confront playground bullies at night with baseball bats. Detective Lupo called her "soccer monster".

* ''Series/WillAndGrace'': [[TheAlcoholic Karen Walker]] occasionally falls into this trope, as she's quick to complain about any lack of service or openly mock those she deems inferior, especially working-class people. The latter is best seen in her relationship with [[VitriolicBestBuds Rosario]], her personal maid and frequent target of racist insults, although Rosario is able to fire right back and, in one case when Karen tried being nicer to her, told her that she ''enjoyed'' their repartee and nearly quit because of the lack of it. Unlike most examples, though, she hates spending time with her children and often whines whenever she has to attend one of their activities--for instance, when she went to her son Mason's swim meet, she griped "A public pool? Why doesn't someone just pee on me directly?"
** The episode "Gypsies, Tramps and Weed" [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]] the trope. The group is out for dinner on Will's birthday, and when Grace complains (albeit more politely than most examples of this character) about their waiter's inattentiveness, the manager apologizes and tells her that he's just been fired. Grace feels absolutely horrible about this and hires the guy to work for her interior design firm...but it turns out that he sells marijuana and turns her office into his latest dealer's spot. She realizes that the waiter really ''is'' just a lazy jerk and happily fires him again.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

[[folder:Websites]]
* Website/{{Reddit}} has the [[https://www.reddit.com/r/FuckYouKaren/ "Fuck You Karen"]] subreddit, which originated as a series of memes about an obnoxious ex-wife and is now dedicated to memes about the entitled, argumentative suburban mom stereotype.
** Many of these kinds of people also feature in stories from subreddits like [[https://www.reddit.com/r/EntitledParents/ "Entitled Parents"]] and [[https://www.reddit.com/r/IDontWorkHereLady/ "I Dont Work Here, Lady"]].

-->'''Beatrice''': The man sitting next to me was wearing a t-shirt, a t-shirt [=BoJack=], in the theater. The T-shirt told me to "just do it." I don't know to what "it" the T-shirt referred but I will not be spoken to in that tone by an article of clothing.

[[/folder]]

* ''Series/TheGoldbergs'':Beverly Goldberg ticks a lot of the boxes; she is a wolverine where her kids are concerned, and is forever looking for the get-rich-or-at-least-noteworthy scheme (for instance, trying to get her recipe book published on her own account, or vicariously via her children, who are of course brilliant, talented and gifted).

* ''Series/WillAndGrace'': [[TheAlcoholic Karen Walker]] occasionally falls into this trope, as she's quick to complain about any lack of service or openly mock those she deems inferior, especially working-class people. The latter is best seen in her relationship with [[VitrolicBestBuds Rosario]], her personal maid and frequent target of racist insults, although Rosario is able to fire right back and, in one case when Karen tried being nicer to her, told her that she ''enjoyed'' their repartee and nearly quit because of the lack of it. Unlike most examples, though, she hates spending time with her children and often whines whenever she has to attend one of their activities--for instance, when she went to her son Mason's swim meet, she griped "A public pool? Why doesn't someone just pee on me directly?"

** Martha Huber was a bitter, passive aggressive, judgmental woman who seemed to take pleasure in judging other women's sexual activity or observing whatever was going wrong in their lives. Even her own sister hated her, and [[HateSink no one was sad when she was murdered]].

* ''Series/TheGoldbergs'':Beverly Goldberg ticks a lot of the boxes; she is a wolverine where her kids are concerned, and is forever looking for the get-rich-or-at-least-noteworthy scheme (for instance, trying to get her recipe book published on her own account, or vicariously via her children, who are of course brilliant, talented and gifted)

* ''Website/NotAlwaysRight'' is rife with stories about every type of this trope possible and the saner worker/coworker/relatives/passerby's struggle against them. The usual range is between [PsychopathicManchild entitled]] [[AbusiveParents parents]] and [[ConspiracyTheorist scheming]] [[TinFoilHat crazies]].

This type of [[AlwaysFemale woman]] is an AlphaBitch in adulthood: invariably white and heterosexual, most often upper-middle-class, and [[ItsAllAboutMe feeling entitled to have the entire world suit her needs and preferences]]. She likes to be heavily involved in local politics, such as the PTA, the homeowners' association, or the neighborhood watch. She will go out of her way to [[SpoiledBrat complain at the slightest provocation or inconvenience]], no matter how much it embarrasses or delays everyone else. This entitlement may manifest as bigotry, either [[InnocentBigot unintentional]] or by deliberately {{profiling}} people who don't fit her standards of beauty. She tends to be well-off and makes extravagant purchases to show off her family's wealth, but will still fight retail workers over the price of whatever she's buying. She is usually paired with a HenpeckedHusband who has given up on trying to calm her down. If she's not openly combative, she's at the very least extremely passive-aggressive, posing as kind and neighborly while judging all the other women in the neighborhood that don't live up to her standards. For some reason, she often has short hair, usually a bob. Despite the title, she may not be married, and she may even have a job outside the house, but most examples are privileged housewives since they have enough time on their hands to meddle in everybody's affairs.

[[quoteright:324:[[Webcomic/EnnuiGo https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/helencoffee.png]]]]

In real life, this is often referred to as a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soccer_mom "soccer mom"]]. Another slang term, "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_(pejorative) Karen]]," emerged in the late 2010s to describe obnoxious middle-aged white women. These terms are typically used in an unflattering matter, so '''no real life examples, please.'''

* Invoked in ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'' when Sue Snell has an ImagineSpot over her future. After she throws tampons and pads at Carrie in the shower, she imagines herself becoming a classic example and it motivates her to ask Tommy to take Carrie to the prom instead of her.