Girlboss: Uplifting Praise or Dismissive Slang?
Let's start with a quick dive into the origin of the term. "Girlboss" was coined in 2014 by Sophia Amoruso, a businesswoman with a thriving online clothing business. Her autobiography, titled #Girlboss, focuses on the story of the founding of her company NastyGal. My congrats to Sophia, truly. I am so proud of all self-made career women. I'm jealous that they are competent enough to run a business (which is more competent than I'll ever be) but ultimately I am so happy for them.
But what really is a girlboss? I turned to the most reliable website of all time for my answer. Urban Dictionary defines girlboss as “someone who is lauded as being a feminist icon, despite the fact that they are actually extremely unpleasant or unfeminist." If we ignore the sexism of using a word to describe a woman's behavior (unpleasant) as a synonym for her actions/morals (unfeminist), this definition is a pretty solid one.
Clearly Amoruso's definition of a girlboss is very different from Urban Dictionary's. The meaning of the word girlboss depends on the context in which it is used. If I used my time to apply for a job instead of reading Reddit threads about antidepressant side effects for hours, then my friends might call me a "girlboss." I completed a task that was difficult for me and in this situation, the term is one of endearment. If I wasn't depressed and was actually running a successful business, being called a girlboss would be a true compliment. I would be a working woman with successful endeavors. So where does this less savory definition of girlboss fit in?
Let's explore the term's place in feminism. Our friends at Urban Dictionary gave a great definition. An unfeminist woman who claims to have feminist values but contradicts these values in some way, is a girlboss. There’s another component to girlboss feminism. Girlboss feminism focuses on celebrating women’s accomplishments, even if that woman is acting in a morally reprehensible way. Amy Walsh has written a lovely piece that gives an overview of girlboss feminism and an example.
The term “girlboss” has also been criticized for promoting capitalism and MLM culture. It paints capitalistic ventures as a path to gender equality. Alex Abad-Santos explains in his Vox article that social justice is being blended with capitalism. Whether or not you think that this phenomenon is a harmful one is up to you, but it is definitely important to consider while forming your opinion on “girlboss.”
And maybe girlboss is just misogyny thinly-veiled with lazy slang. As my dear reader Ailani commented on the last blog, we wouldn’t call a man a “manboss.” We would find that ridiculous, because men are the default when it comes to language. It would sound silly to categorize their accomplishments by their gender. So why do we accept that for women? Can a woman not just be a boss?
So where does all of this leave us? Can I not call my friends girlbosses anymore? Have I made every woman in my life feel inferior to a man? Should I send them handwritten apologies with a gift card to Starbucks? And most importantly, do I delete all of my tweets about Zendaya?
Dear reader, you have done nothing wrong. Slang is fun and constantly changing! Like with the term Karen, slang can lose its meaning and devolve into misogyny before you can even blink. Girlboss may have started with good intentions to uplift women, but it has become a tool to uphold exploitative capitalism and promote women who do more harm than good. It may be time to put girlboss on the shelf for good.
Hi Kate!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog yet again! You have such a great voice in your writing. Also thank you for the validation. Did I use the term girl boss literally several times last week? I definitely did. I had no idea the negative implications that the term had. But now that I think more and more about it, it totally makes sense. Why can’t women just be bosses? This makes me think too of the term “malewife”. Malewife does the same thing where it takes qualities in men that may be more feminine and creates a whole new category. Instead of just accepting the fact that men can have more feminine traits, we have to create a whole new term to stereotype them.
Hi Kate! This was the first post I read from you, and I had so much fun that I went back and read the first entry you made! Throughout your writing, you maintained an extremely fun, exciting, and vibrant voice, making the read so much more enjoyable. I especially love your witty jokes, comments, and jabs. Personally, I have used the term “girlboss” more times than I can count. I have never thought about the term from this perspective before. However, you are totally right, slang is constantly changing and when it strays from its original intended meaning, then the consequences will do more harms and good. When something is no longer serving us or our community, we need to let it go. Now, I can see how the term “girlboss” is one of the things we can begin to let go of. Thank you for your post, it was extremely entertaining, and thought-provoking! I look forward to reading more of your work!
ReplyDeleteHi Kate! I really enjoyed reading your blog, and it is definitely a topic that I have never really thought about. This definitely got me thinking, which I really like. I really like your voice in your writing and how passionate you are. You can definitely tell how passionate you are through your writing. I am definitely a pretty big feminist myself, so it is cool and interesting to read about something that I am very into and interested in. I know I certainly will be learning a lot from your blog and blog posts, and cannot wait for that!
ReplyDeleteHey Kate, This was an interesting blog post that brought insight into a subject that I did not know about the negative connotations of the term "Girl Boss". I did not think of the negative aspects that have been coming from people using the phrase in a negative way. I think you brought notice to the issue by also acknowledging that people can still use it in a non demeaning way. Your post has made me aware of how people use the phrase to humiliate women.
ReplyDeleteHi Kate,
ReplyDeleteI went back to read your last post. I found both very interesting and educational about the word "girlboss". To be honest, I don't really use that word but you made me think "why do we call successful women 'girlboss' but is just 'boss' to men? There is different words that we have used to degrade both women and men. We need to learn that both can be feminine and masculine without having to use different words. I can see your excitement of showing the class what you know. It was really easy to read and entertaining. Your posts are going to make your readers aware of things we don't really think about.
Hey, Kate! This is my first reading through your blog and I learned a lot from you. I also find myself using the term 'girlboss' often. I have heard somewhere that it was starting to have negative implications despite emerging from good intentions to women. It is saddening that misogynists really try to find ways to exploit women in various ways. I believe we do not have to attach gender to the word boss, because anyone who works hard to be successful deserves to be called 'boss' as a compliment or even become one in the actual workplace, regardless of gender.
ReplyDeleteHey Kate! I'm reading your blog post again and it's interesting you chose to write about the term of girl boss and if we should retire the use of it or not. I think it's good you mentioned the connection of the term to capitalism, in a way I see the term girl boss close to the hustle culture we have in our society, that we must always be working and if you're not working 24/7 then..you basically suck in a sense. You have a point as well that we don't typically call men, male-boss why can't we just call women bosses? without having to add girl in front of it. I find the term being used now has been overused and now is a bit cringy but at the beginning I did like it though.
ReplyDeleteHi Kate,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post so much. You made such an interesting argument as to why the term “girlboss” can be considered harmful. I myself have used this term many times and have never thought as to why it can be harmful. Your sources and thoughts definitely present a strong argument as to why this term can be harmful. Now that I think about it, I have seen and heard men say “girlboss” in a derogatory way and didn’t consider why it made me feel upset. I can’t wait to read more of your blog posts and your take on feminism.