I’m not ignorant to the fact that society operates on a set of rules, including those seemingly “hot” trends that can be impossible to avoid, even for those most adamantly set on doing so. I’m also not ignorant to the fact that popular consensus on something doesn’t make it right. With that in mind, I hold the opinion that the trends in digital media, bookstores, and social media referring to women as #GirlBoss doesn’t serve as a compliment or encouragement, but rather, as gratuitous nonsense.

Being a boss is gender agnostic

Referring to a woman who holds any measure of authority, be it entrepreneurial, financial, managerial, or even domestic, as a #GirlBoss, exaggerates her gender in a way that is completely irrelevant. The definition of a boss means that this person has the power to make decisions, has authority, and manages a group or an organization; no reference to gender.

Implicit in the nature of being an actual boss, is the fact that it doesn’t, and shouldn’t matter whether you’re a man or a woman. If you’re a boss, you’re a boss. Prefacing the word with the descriptors of “girl”, or “lady”, in my opinion, actually diminishes the power of the word, not because you added gender to the mix, but because you felt that you had to.

What’s likely intended as a progressive expression of female empowerment actually feels more like a cheapened gesture harkening back to the days when women were referred to as “lady doctors” or “lady cops”. It’s not helping the cause of equality.
 

It’s thrown around gratuitously

At the risk of sounding completely arrogant, I’m going to go ahead and say this anyway – referring to every woman you know as a #GirlBoss isn’t just unwarranted, it’s a lie! Posting a picture of your best friend on Instagram and captioning her as a #GirlBoss doesn’t make her a boss.

I get it, women do this to empower and encourage one another; but I contend that there’s a way of doing so that’s far more accurate and realistic; a way that goes beyond social media hashtag trends. Calling a women a boss, who quite honestly isn’t doing anything that would warrant her being referred to as one in any real sense of the word, shouldn’t be labelled as such. Not only does it cheapen the word altogether, adding the prefix of her gender only makes it worse because it implies that all you need to do to be a #GirlBoss is simply be a girl. If every Tom, Dick, and Harry out there  with a smart phone and an Instagram account was referring to himself as a “boss” based solely on the fact that he’s a man, you’d find it utterly ridiculous, right? I’d hope so! Ladies, we want equality? We want to be treated with respect in the marketplace and in the boardroom? Then, we’ve got to play by the same rules that apply to our male counterparts, being a woman doesn’t make you an exception, nor should you want it to.

Is it really empowerment, or just good marketing?

It wasn’t long after I typed in “Girl Boss” into Pinterest’s search bar that I was boggled down with images of pink notebooks, pink coffee mugs, and pink flower-laden, minimalistic office designs denoting all the “essential gifts for a #GirlBoss”. Yup, as suspected, the #GirlBoss “movement”, is just yet another ploy leading women “believe in themselves” enough to pull out their credit cards and go shopping. And, after you’ve shopped, be sure to arrange the items on your desktop in a meticulously staged display, to be broadcasted on Instagram with the hashtag “#GirlBoss”. Congratulations, now you’re a part of the sorority! Yes, now you’re a true #GirlBoss.

All of this bothers me because I so deeply believe that women are capable of so much more than they even know. By buying into the fad of being a #GirlBoss, women are pigeon-holing themselves in a way that will prove difficult to break out of in the future. Admit it, when is the last time you thought of a #GirlBoss leading a group of male bankers, firefighters, or software developers? When you think of a #GirlBoss, it’s likely you think of someone with a traditionally female-dominated occupation, implying that she’s a boss of only “girl things”. It implies that she’s likely only the boss of other girls, rather than just being a boss, leading both men and women.

We have got to stop limiting ourselves, ladies! It’s rare for me to find social media posts by men labelling a woman as a #GirlBoss. Notably, this “movement” began with the release of Sophia Amoruso’s book entitled, #GirlBoss, and thereby was brought into notoriety by women themselves, not men. A man might even go so far as simply calling you a boss. How crazy is that?!

I believe in the power of an encouraging word to lift a person out of their fears and inhibitions, to empower them to take a risk and strive for their dreams. I do not believe in unmerited niceties that distract women from what lies beneath the surface. Consider what you’re actually doing in your life and determine how much authority it holds. If taking greater responsibility over yourself, or others, is what you want; if you truly want to be a boss, then be one, and don’t hide behind your gender as an excuse or distraction from what you really want. Be a woman, and be a boss. That is all.

Here’s to the only prefix I’ll ever put before “boss” – muhf*&@%’n…

Cheers,