#GIRLBOSS ISN’T OVER, IT’S JUST CHANGING

Oct 13

Not everyone is on the same page when it comes to #Girlboss. White women are labeling the term as cringy and dead, yet BIPOC women are continuing to use it as a career motivator and source of inspiration. The term isn’t dead, it’s just going through a shift to reclaim its original identity and meaning.

TO WHITE WOMEN, BEING A GIRLBOSS IS NO LONGER AS ASPIRATIONAL AS IT ONCE WAS.

Coined in 2014, the Girlboss archetype held career-
orientated women with career goals in the palm of its hand. The term was aspirational for White women, but has now become a symbol of toxic behavior, hostility, and fake-
woke feminism.

This isn’t the case for all women though, as BIPOC communities resist the shift in the term’s definition.

BLACK WOMEN’S SHARE OF #GIRLBOSS MENTIONS HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED

Source: SegmentPro

While White women are dissociating themselves from the term, viewing it as “toxic,” it has by no means disappeared. Black, entrepreneurial women are reclaiming the term as they increasingly become powerhouses in business.

PERCENT OF #GIRLBOSS POSTS COMING FROM BLACK WOMEN

INFLUENCERS OF PEOPLE USING #GIRLBOSS

Source: SegmentPro

2014

Lauren Conrad

Nicole Richie

Leandra Medine

Rachel Zoe

Lena Dunham

2017

Oprah Winfrey

Tony Robbins

Brene Brown

Reese Witherspoon

Lauren Conrad

2021

Oprah Winfrey

Tracee Ellis Ross

Beyonce

Gabrielle Union

Rasheeda

KEYWORDS BY PEOPLE USING #GIRLBOSS

Source: SegmentPro

2014

2017

2021

#GIRLBOSS MEANS MORE TO BLACK WOMEN
THAN IT EVER HAS TO WHITE WOMEN

While many White women who were early adopters of Girlboss are no longer using the term, it’s not dead just because they don’t use it. Black entrepreneurs continue to use the term, especially those who have overcome many barriers to get where they are today.
Here’s how they use the term ⬇