By Zoe Hughes
Staff Reporter
In 2014, everyone was talking about a specific new term for women. Girlboss, a term that sounded bold. Entrepreneur Sophia Amoruso used the word in her memoir #Girlboss to describe unapologetically ambitious women. At the time, it felt like a rallying cry: women could be leaders, entrepreneurs and visionaries.
But over a decade later, girlboss has worn out its welcome. The term no longer feels empowering. It feels dated, shallow and, frankly, a little insulting. If we want to celebrate women in leadership, we should stop calling them girlbosses and start calling them what they are: bosses.
The problem starts with the word “girl.” Referring to grown women as girls is infantilizing. It makes their authority sound cute or novel, instead of earned. Men in power are simply called bosses not boyboss. Why should women be saddled with a gendered label that undercuts them?
The term also became tangled in hustle culture, a trend that promotes constant work and the idea that personal effort alone can secure success. Instead of challenging the barriers that hold women back, it spotlighted a narrow type of achievement, usually wealthy women building personal brands. The so-called “girlboss” era celebrated a few individual wins while leaving structural inequalities largely untouched.
By 2019, the backlash had begun. Online, “Girlboss” turned into a punchline. Memes like “Gaslight, Gatekeep Girlboss” mocked the hollowness of corporate feminism. On screen, girlboss characters were cast as villains, think Meredith Blake in the movie “The Parent Trap.” Even Amoruso herself walked away from the term, tweeting in 2022, “Please stop using the word Girlboss thank you.”
Language matters. Words shape the way we think about power. If we keep calling women girlbosses, we send the message that their leadership is an exception, something that needs to be framed differently than men’s. That is not progress. That is packing spirituality in millennial pink.
So what should replace it? It’s all about being a boss, leader, CEO, professor, coach, and senator, nothing flashy or cutesy. The same titles that men get, without apology.
If feminism today means anything, it should mean treating women’s authority as normal, not novel. It should mean celebrating leadership across race, class and industry, not just in corner offices or on Instagram feeds. And it should mean fighting for structural change, not just slogans.
Girlboss may have once felt rebellious. But now it is just tired. If we want to build a culture where women in power are respected, the fix is simple: drop the qualifier.
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