The demise of #girlboss

It is offensive? Cringe? Embarrassing? What happened to the accolade of being a 'girlboss' and who ruined it?

Girlboss was first popularised by Sophia Amoruso in her 2014 book named after the term. She uses it to describe a woman ‘whose success is defined in opposition to the masculine business world in which she swims upstream’ and began a term of accolade used in congratulatory recognition. Not only reserved for the business world, but a girlboss can also be someone who takes charge of their own life and circumstances.

But when googling the term, the first suggestion from google is to question further ‘Is girlboss a compliment?’ and today I’m asking, is it? If it isn’t offensive, is it just cringe? It is, according to i-d, it is fast becoming ‘everyone’s least favourite motivational adage’, but how did this happen?

In the same way that popularisation lends itself to satire, the term has become an ironic expression comparable to other terms that have died the death of time or are being diluted and polluted by their internet presence. ‘Slay’ for example, has similar notes of girlboss-ery and is usually only said ironically as a punchline or witty comment (even in this context it’s beginning to often miss the mark.

Terms lose their meaning in popularisation. In 2016, YOLO entered the Oxford English Dictionary as an acronym for ‘You Only Live Once’ after Canadian rapper Drake included in it his hit ‘The Motto’. ‘You only live once’ is a semi-profound outlook on life and can be used as an almost hedonistic philosophy, in which there is little to worry about, but everything to do, in this short time on earth. Since then, the term has died a death and has become cringe after its original meaning is lost. It is now in an archived selection of words and phrases like ‘swag’ – time capsules of (now) cringe from the twenty-teens. Similarly, ‘Live Laugh Love’, originally simple and wholesome instructions for living happily (that many people actually got tattooed) has since become over-diluted in Instagram graphics, home décor, and door mats – becoming cringe.

‘Girlboss’ is suffering a similar fate. Memes and ironic trends surrounding the term like ‘gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss’ (a parody of ‘Live Laugh Love’) are moving associations of the phrase further towards a negative connotation, if not just solidifying it as cringe and overused. When speaking with fA mutant of the girlboss is the ‘hashtag-girlboss’, usually proclaimed by the girlboss themselves under their Instagram or LinkedIn posts. The self-proclamation as well as using the term dead seriously is what makes the #girlboss the final form of satire. It makes people and the word a parody of itself – and fair game for memes and p*** taking. #Girlboss can be used when you home-make a coffee, for example, instead of buying one, or using your laptop on the train. Self-proclaimed girlbosses are more and more seen as a bit insufferable and the butt of jokes rather than acclaimed businesswomen. (We must remember; however, this shouldn't be directed at the women, it’s the term that is the source of parody and jokes and this is a distinction that people must be careful to maintain)

Another factor in the girlboss’s demise could be its association with the millennial presence on the internet. Unfortunately for them, the word ‘millennial’ is being used more and more as an adjective synonym for ‘cringe’, or missing the mark. The Gen Z vs Millennial differences online are tenfold, and this often results in playful bantering from both sides – the differences often being played up for comedy that actually being a cultural rift. But when you think millennial as a stereotyped adjective, think ‘derp!’ or ‘I did a thing!’ – irony that isn’t quite irony: it misses the mark of comedic timing, satire, irony and self-directed/deliberate cringe in a fractionate but excruciating way.

But is our cringe at the term and self-proclaimed girl bosses misogynistic? Is it their association with women (mostly successful) that means it can’t be taken seriously? There are probably nuances and elements that are driven by eye-rolls that women are met with for anything, but, I pose to you the male equivalent that comes under equal amounts of stick. I believe it’s equivalent is ‘high-quality and ‘alpha male’ subcultures on social media that are seen as hilarious and ironic to anyone other than those that are self-proclaimed to be in those categories. ‘Alpha’ or ‘high quality’ males often are self-proclaimed and take this on as their whole identity, often creating a persona out of this that from an outsider's perspective seems like a skit rather than a real thing (think Cody-Ko’s ‘That’s Cringe: Epic Morning Routine). These terms have been memed in the same way as #girlboss on social media. TikTok creators are, for example, responding to podcast hosts who describe themselves as “alpha males” by mercilessly and hilariously accurately parodying their content. I think girlboss is to girlbosses what alpha male is to alpha males.

Taking yourself too seriously online is the perfect way to have others do the opposite and turn your accolade into a bit of a joke, and overuse of any term will mean it will evolve and change and subsequently be archived into cringe.