I totally agree, Jill! I think it can be a really powerful and positive thing too when it serves an a unifier and to cultivate a support system. That I love. But I guess my thoughts are that when you are a true “girl boss” (just using the word because we all know what it means now) you don’t need to STATE it to gain respect from other women. You are a woman who is doing her thing, and of course you’re going to support other women. The victimization and entitlement is totally what I was getting at. The “oh, I’m *really big* in the female empowerment space and I’m a girl boss too so help a sister out” messages that I receive 5+ times a day. Kind of like UHHH what does that mean?! Tell me who you ARE! That kind of stuff. 🙂 Thanks for picking up on what I was getting at and sharing your opinion! You rock! <3

Thank you Karlie! I totally agree. It is catchy and cute, and I like those elements of it. But yes it does downplay, especially when used in certain contexts!!

I think this differentiation may be why some women like the name though. Not for the inferior implications of being a ‘girl’, but almost like a reappropriation of the word? Or at least those are vibes I’ve been getting, similar to how so many women embraced being a ‘nasty woman’. Kind of like: “F yeah, I’m a girl, and because I’m a girl, I have the power to be a boss.” Or like that Always campaign that ran a few years ago that asked young girls to demonstrate what it meant to run like a girl, and they ran as fast/hard as they could. And then they asked young women (and a couple of guys) the same question, and they ran like slow-moving ditzes; Always asks the viewer, “when did doing something like a girl become an insult?”

I think identifying as a girlboss can be a really powerful, positive thing when it unites women and inspires them to be stronger and to work harder and most of all when they realize that “girl” is not an inherently bad word. It is not an inherently weak word. It is just a word. We are not victims of its definition–we actually have the power to redefine it, if we choose to do so, and if we choose to stand by one another in our efforts to redefine it (power in numbers, basically). So I think “girlboss” is actually kind of the perfect term. Also, because it’s a separate term from just “boss”, it’s possible to create a community around hardworking women (almost like using an obscure hashtag on Twitter that you give your followers so you can all chat about something, rather than choosing a trending hashtag and then your voices get drowned out).

At the same time, it seems that some members of this community are taking it for granted and are taking the term out of its original context and, rather than SHOW how they’re girlbosses, they’re using it as a term of entitlement and victimization–like, I’m a girlboss and you’re a girlboss so we should help each other out because we’re both victims of the patriarchy. I mean, no. The same rules of working hard and being nice to people still apply. Maybe the victimization/entitlement is what you were picking up on in those messages and that’s what rubbed you the wrong way?

Either way, thanks for posting, even if it is a controversial topic right now. I enjoyed reading what you had to say. x

Oh and one last thing, the judge referring to the female attorney as “little lady” is almost EXACTLY the way I’ve come to see the term “girl boss” being used by a lot of the people that I notice using it — it sounds too cutesy for my liking and that’s because in my industry at least, it is VERY often used in cutesy + dumbed down ways. So yes, I am on your page girl!! And I appreciate you opening my eyes to the larger picture, too! <3

Hi Casey! I am so appreciative of your comment. I really appreciate your opinion, and I completely agree with much of what you said. I didn’t mean for any part of my post to come off as out of touch with reality or imply that I don’t support other women who are out there working hard to make a difference. In fact, if certain women resonate with the term #GirlBoss, then absolutely more power to them! I just think that we don’t need the GIRL boss label in order for a female to feel like she is a boss or in order for her to be seen an equal in the workforce.

It is true that, as you mentioned, the social media space and blogosphere are vastly different for women entrepreneurs from what much of women in corporate America face. It’s true that women are getting paid less and aren’t getting fair leave as new mothers. THAT absolutely makes me think deeper about women as bosses, “girl bosses,” and the like. BUT my point of this post was absolutely not to disparage women’s rights, equality and our rise to the top. It was actually meant to be the opposite — a reminder that we don’t need the word “girl boss” in order to fight for what is equally ours.

And yes, you’re right, I did stick primarily to the blogging industry in this post which is what I know best — but I agree, that is just one place in which the term is used. Ultimately I feel very lucky to be working in a space where I am given respect (*most* of the time) as a woman, but the ways in which I see “girl boss” being used as a term in my industry very much dumb down the word. They don’t speak to all of the points that you mentioned and often the term is taken so out of context it hardly even makes sense.

Anyway, I could go on, but I wanted to take the time to thank you for your comment and share with you that I am on your page! We should all be working together to rise, and I am BEYOND HAPPY to support other women each and every day. I just think the labels can get to be a little much, and they don’t always continue to portray what they were intended to mean when they were created. (Sophia Amoruso will ALWAYS be a Girl Boss… but I wish people would stop using the word in weird ways only to promote themselves!)

PS, when you start your cooking blog, share the link with me so I can check it out. 🙂

LOVE. So glad you agree. You da best my boss lady <3 XO

I am not sure if you left this part of the conversation out of the post because it isn’t relevant to you, or it doesn’t seem to be a prevalent issue in the blogger/ internet entrepreneur/ social media/ world in which you live (which is awesome- my dream job is to have a cooking blog, I am not disparaging this world at all). However, I bet that many women in this “world” or “industry” are trying to become #GirlBosses because in every other place, their worth is marginalized by men…men who dominate CEO positions in Fortune 500 companies, men who are earning 20% more than their female counterparts .

I think it is wrong to say, as you did, “If you’re a girl and you’re an entrepreneur, trust me — people will take note. If you’re working hard and treating people well and approaching people you admire with respect — they WILL help you.” Yes, there are PLENTY of people that will recognize a hard working and ambitious person … but the facts and statistics show they won’t do the same for a hard working and ambitious woman.

These women aren’t calling themselves Girl Bosses to gain your respect, as you mentioned. They are calling themselves Girl Bosses because they (wrongly) assumed you were in it for the same reasons as them – to tear down the walls that prevent women from being paid as much as men, that prevent women from receiving the pregnancy leave their bodies (and children’s basic needs) require, and that prevent women from filling not even close to 50% of those Fortune 500 CEO positions.

I have followed your blog for a while but this post unfortunately made me feel that you are out of touch with reality- or at least the reality the rest of us are living in where in 2016 judges still refer to female attorneys as “little lady” (http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/14/grace.excerpt.02/). Maybe if there were more people using the term #GirlBoss, these inappropriate comments would become a thing of the past.

I LOVE.
xoxo
Krista
http://www.hundredblog.com