Watchdog Deems “Karen, Boomer, Femi-Nazi & Snowflake” Are Mildly Offensive To TV & Radio Audiences

Watchdog Deems “Karen, Boomer, Femi-Nazi & Snowflake” Are Mildly Offensive To TV & Radio Audiences
B&T Magazine
By B&T Magazine



The British communications watchdog Ofcom has deemed that words such as Boomer, Karen and snowflake are mildly offensive to TV and radio audiences, however, has stopped short of banning the terms.

Ofcom was forced to act following a number of complaints from TV and radio listeners about certain words.

The regulator examined the following 10 words to determine if they were offensive to audiences. They included:

Karen – A pejorative term for a middle-aged white woman who are likely to complain about trivial matters.

Boomer – Entitled people born between 1946 to 1964.

Gammon – The term refers in particular to the colour of a person’s flushed face when expressing their strong opinions.

Libturd – A combination of liberal and turd to insult people with left-leaning views, particularly those who vote Democrats in the US.

Terf –  A feminist who excludes the rights of transgender women from their advocacy of women’s rights.

Snowflake – Young adults of the 2010s, viewed as being less resilient and more prone to take offence than previous generations.

Remoaner – A name given to a person believing that the UK should remain in the European Union and not supporting Brexit.

Femi-Nazi – A pejorative term for feminists which was popularised by politically conservative American radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

Nat – The shortened term for nationalist.

Yoon – A derogatory term for Scottish people who support the United Kingdom and are opposed to Scottish independence.

Ofcom determined that Karen, Boomer, gammon and terf were all mildly offensive terms, while femi-nazi and yoon were considered moderately offensive.

Adam Baxter, Ofcom’s director of standards and audience protection, commented: “These findings will help broadcasters to make these often finely balanced judgements and better inform their decisions about the broadcasting of offensive language and other content.

“The report also helps us at Ofcom understand and take account of audience’s views when making complex and nuanced decisions about potentially offensive content on TV and radio, while having full regard to freedom of expression,” Baxter said.

The findings have caused a bit of a stir in the UK, with detractors slamming the decision as censorship, while others – particularly women named Karen – saw the funny side.

Check out some of the social media reaction below:




Please login with linkedin to comment

Boomers Karen Ofcom

Latest News

Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm
  • Media

Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm

Sydney Comedy Festival 2024 is live and ready to rumble, showing the best of international and homegrown talent at a host of venues around town. As usual, it’s hot on the heels of its big sister, the giant that is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, picking up some acts as they continue on their own […]

Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth
  • Advertising

Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth

The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has announced the final epic lineup of local and global marketing powerhouses for RESET for Growth 2024. Lead image: Josh Faulks, chief executive officer, AANA  Back in 2000, a woman with no business experience opened her first juice bar in Adelaide. The idea was brilliantly simple: make healthy […]