Is the ‘Girl Boss’ Really Just an Anti-Feminist Commodification?

Abstract

Social media today has been flooded with the increasing portrayal of the ‘Girl Boss’. Instagram and TikTok particularly have millions of posts captioned ‘#GirlBoss’, showing women living an aestheticized life of success, appearing to be the perfect stress-free life that any girl can achieve. From first look, this seems to be a feminist success where women are breaking into the business world, achieving the same business success as men whilst maintaining and promoting femininity. However, looking to theorise the rise of the Girl Boss in contemporary society raises questions on whether this is more of an anti-feminist capitalist commodity than a liberating goal to aim for.