This article explores pre-Covid-19 vaccine sentiment through pro-vaccine (pro-vaxx) internet memes with a focus on anti-vaxx mom and Karen figures. We argue that pro-vaxxers on the popular social news aggregate site Reddit employed Karen and other variations on the anti-vaxx mom as a subversion of the mother warrior figure originally meant to be empowering for vaccine sceptics. While anti-vaxx mom and Karen memes were humorous and participatory, they also presented vaccine attitudes in moralistic and reductive terms via the mother valour/blame binary. The study allows us to understand a trajectory of modern vaccine hesitancy and responses to it leading up to Covid-19. Moreover, it explores the emergence of the Karen figure as a manifestation of moral outrage and indicative of broader struggles related to authoritative knowledge. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Gender Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
Good Karen, Bad Karen: visual culture and the anti-vaxx mom on Reddit