Begin rant. Some people love it. I loathe it.
The use of the hashtag #GirlBoss is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Every time I read it I want to yell PLEASE STOP! It drives. me. crazy.
Don’t get me wrong. I love girl (Um, can we just use female or woman at this stage?) bosses and businesses owned by women. Women who own businesses, women who run households (something I am terrible at) women who are rocking all sorts of leadership roles are amazing, and I think they deserve to be taken a little more seriously than just #GirlBoss.
I technically *am* a #GirlBoss (and I am taking new clients) and for better or for worse that means I do it all. I’m good at what I do for work, maybe not as good at the business side (Hello, my taxes are still not done.)
But I’m doing it and getting it done like a boss and working my butt off (Unfortunately figuratively speaking, not literally. I’m too busy sitting on my butt working to be getting rid of it.) I don’t need to label it or myself. People know I’m a woman. They know what I do for work.
#GirlBoss sounds like playing work or playing house, like you’re not-so-sure of your role so you make up something to make it sound cute and important. I feel like the use of #GirlBoss should be followed by a “tee hee hee” and a shy side smile. Ladies, you don’t need a silly label to be the boss!
Do you see male entrepreneurs and business owners prancing around calling themselves #BoyBoss or even #GuyBoss? No. Would you take them less seriously if you did? I am pretty sure I would.
Would I like #LadyBoss or #WomanBoss better? Sometimes I use #WomeninBusiness or #WomanOwnedBusiness because I do want to support and seek out likeminded women and kickass businesses owned by women. I don’t know.
I do know that I am going to have to agree to disagree with some of you on this, and that’s fine, because part of loving, supporting, and respecting fellow lady bosses is the variety of different and valid opinions we all bring to the table. There’s room for us all.
Just please don’t call me #GirlBoss. Okay?
End rant.
Your turn: what do you think about it? Any hashtags or popular terms you hate?
On fleek also makes me want to rip my hair out.
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I never thought about it like that before, though, it’s not a hashtag I was particularly fond of or ever used. you make such a good point!
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I’ve actually never even seen #GirlBoss before, but it does make me cringe!
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I have to say, I basically agree with you. Especially because a lot of the times I see it it’s when people are the “boss” of those direct sales companies that are really just starting to drive me nuts in general, ha ha.
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Yes!!!!
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I think this is so interesting. I’ve never loved #girlboss because it always seemed infantilizing and emphasizing that being a female and a boss is so outside the norm it deserves a hashtag. So I’m totally with you.
I will say that I sometimes use #bosslady. To me, switching the order makes me feel like I am in control of all aspects of my life and isn’t making as big a deal out of the fact that I am a woman. But I could see how people might recoil at that also.
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Thank you for the comment! Boss lady doesn’t bother me nearly as much (maybe because Boss man is sometimes used too?). It sounds kind of funny rather than demeaning.
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