Can Girl Boss Culture Expire Already?

2021: The year we dismantle Girl Boss culture for good.

Last year Refinery 29 published an article about how 2020 needed to be the year that “Girl Boss” culture was put to rest. So much for that. 

Girl Boss implies that “boss” is inherently for men. I mean, would you call your manager Ken a “Boy Boss”? No. Hell no. Not to mention the use of boy or girl to begin with. Using “girl” to describe grown-ass women is so offensive and infantilizing.

But Girl Boss culture is so much more than Sophia Amoruso and the demise of Nasty Gal. It is the art of being busy. And of course - making sure to constantly show that you’re busy on Facebook, Twitter and the gram. Meditate! Visualize! Make dream boards! Make no mistake, this kind of toxic positivity is a product of capitalism and patriarchy. And I’ll explain why. 

Girl Boss has a very narrow definition of success -- wealth, leisure -- and it promises young women that you have total control over your destiny. You just have to work hard enough. Get that CEO position and then sit back, exploit, and underpay your workers. At the same time, use those feminist tag lines to turn in profits. 

But taking on stereotypically male roles in the workplace isn’t the answer. Putting away “womanly” characteristics like softness or emotion is a symptom of internalized misogyny that we can’t hide in our monochromatic power suits. For example, the way that some women mimic toxic forms of masculinity in the workplace by treating other women, often younger, with contempt and gatekeeping who is or isn't worthy of power.

In feminist workplaces, we don’t hoard wealth. And more than posturing for profit, we actually address feminist issues. As business owners, it’s important to acknowledge that everything is political. At Anti-Heroine media, we carefully address questions like 1) Where is the money going? 2) How do we treat each other? 3) How do we serve our community? 4) How do we hold ourselves accountable? Girl Boss culture wasn’t made for all of us. It was made by white women for other pretty, affluent, able-bodied, straight white women. 

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that capitalism is the root of all bad things. This hustle culture is a tentacle of that and we wholeheartedly opt-out. We unsubscribe! Let’s talk about resting as much as we talk about working. Let’s talk about our mental health. Let’s talk about joy and what it looks like to really thrive. Let’s talk about failing. Anti-heroines are not perfect, they are unapologetically human. 

We’re writing our own rules. And in those rules, we say: let’s be leaders, not bosses.