If one is conversant with pop culture and social justice conversations that happen on the internet, then an observation on the rise of divine femininity coaches will be made.
That observation will also notice that this rise in telling women not to work and to totally rely on men skyrocketed after the COVID 19 pandemic of 2020.
Furthermore, an avid observer will notice that this rise in divine femininity preaching went hand in hand with a demonisation of the girl power and girl boss archetypes which dominated feminist media in the 2010s.
However, 2024 saw a slow reemergence of conversations discussing financial abuse, the downsides of billing culture and if women can truly have a “soft life” in a patriarchal world.
Amidst these conversations, one question that is at the center is this: “Should Girlboss Feminism Be Brought Back?”.
Urban Woman Magazine recently spoke to some women to answer the looming question.
Read their replies below.
Simbiat
I think we’ve always had girlboss feminism if we are talking about women owning careers for themselves, making their own money and making waves.
So I don’t necessarily think it has gone, although girlboss feminism may be less heavily marketed now, especially with negative connotations that seem to arise as usual. As we always know, that happens once there is a powerful term used for women; it faces a negative connotation around it.
If it’s in terms of marketing the girlboss term more for it to be brought back, yes that’s fine but I think we still have girlboss feminism around.
Regarding the shaming of independent woman feminism, naturally women should not worry or bother about anyone that is shaming them in terms of being independent. We know the economical implications of not being financially free and we live in a capitalist world. It makes absolutely no sense for women not to make their own money in a capitalist world.
Aside from the fact that we live in a capitalist world, humans are intelligent people and you cannot expect a set of humans to not use their intelligence to be productive in society just because of their sex class.
Anyone that tries to shame women is something that we just need to keep fighting; the shaming of independent women is definitely a problem and something we need to work on and fight against because it is very important for women to be independent.
I don’t necessarily have reservations with girlboss feminism. Women are supposed to hold careers and the more women you see in the workplace the more it helps younger women to know that they can also be in the workplace and the more we normalise it. If we try to market girlboss feminism more it can help women to not dumb down themselves in order to seek a rich man.
But also it’s less about the term and more about the education we do around these things like the media literacy initiatives we do. These things should be done to continue in the education of women so that more women know that they need to assert themselves, take up space in the world, do right for themselves and definitely not depend on men.
We also definitely need to find a way to “abuse” platforms like Tiktok to amplify these messages. This is because Tiktok has a reputation for content about traditional women so we need to look for how to use Tiktok to amplify girlboss feminism or women being independent.
To women, if you have money, you should definitely not deny yourself of a car or a house. Material things and good things are not only for men to enjoy in this world. Again: Women are humans. You cannot say one set of humans should not do something they are hundred percent capable of doing just because of another set.
Most importantly, your life does not revolve around men. What men want and do not want is irrelevant and any man that does not want you to have your own car, your own house or your own properties is not the type of man you should be around. It’s important to also not rely [financially] on not just men but even another human. You should try as much as possible to be independent and self-sufficient. Instead, build a community where you have symbiotic relationships.
Fatimah
I think that girl boss feminism is important but I also think it can be or is a double edge sword.
Women are moving towards the divine femininity nonsense, which is worse, because being a girl boss can be exhausting, (among other reasons sha) especially for a woman who just wants to live.
Don’t get me wrong o. I don’t think divine femininity is a better alternative. On a personal scale, it gets exhausting when you are fighting and working twice as much for half as much in a system that is against you, a system that isn’t fair. I think girl boss and the divine femininity feminism are two sides of the same coin.
Both a sort of reaction to the oppressive conditions under the patriarchy, and we should focus more on trying to change the system instead of the ways in which women have tried to survive the same system.
I agree that there is more empowerment, stability and liberation in being financially independent as a woman because the alternative leaves you vulnerable to abuse and all sorts.
What I mean in the two sides of the same coin is that I think that sometimes, women who choose to girlboss their way and women who choose to depend on a man are both sort of a reaction to the same thing….a society that punishes a woman for earn money and punishes her for not earning money.
Being independent is way better than depending on a man. Sometimes, in a tiny tiny moment I understand women who choose to depend on a man even though it is not a choice I’d make myself.
I also hope we get to a place in our society where the choices women have aren’t to either depend on a man or be a girl boss to survive.
Idayat
I think Girlboss Feminism can be problematic because of class issues, not necessarily gender/sex or a combination of both.
“Would a man dare touch a rich woman that way?”.
“I’m rich and safe from men’s problems.”
How true are the above statements? To me, it paints a narrative that poor women are the ones who…at the lack of a better word…deserve the abuse. It paints poverty as something women choose to partake in.
When in reality, there are moreeee women who are poor than women who are rich. So in a capitalist society that’s anchored by misogyny, girlboss feminism doesn’t really solve a lot of problems. Poor women are often left behind too.
Safety shouldn’t be a privilege of wealth. Girlboss feminism will leave poor women behind. Not because rich women hate poor women but because of class issues.
Becoming a girlboss means you need to have access. A poor girl who is seeing a rich girl won’t probably feel the need to not secure a rich man because she most likely lacks access to be like the rich girl. Different realities too. Again, class (and gender).
This is why I like empowerment. It creates access. But I don’t think a poor girl seeing rich women will necessarily break the years of conditioning and the lack created by poverty. But access will.
So I don’t think girlboss feminism should come back. I think creating access through empowerment (funded by girl bosses no doubt) should always be in.
PS: I’m not saying being a girl boss is inherently wrong. Just saying it’s very individual. It doesn’t solve any problem outside of the problems of the girl boss. It’s always: “I and my money”. It assumes that every woman has equal access to wealth and all they have to do is “work” for it.
Meanwhile, there are women doing very hard work of hawking pepper every day, yet still living below the poverty line.
Crystal
I think it’s overall a mindset thing. Because money stops nonsense, money gives confidence, especially when you have the right mentality. I think that’s what people mean most times when they make those comments.
Because there’s how you’ll stand when you have money in your account, especially when you don’t have psychological ghosts to fight. Psychological ghosts like the voices of older women in your ears over the years telling you how a woman should worship a man, that sort of thing.
The thing is, as a woman you need two things: crase and confidence. You need these before you make it in life, so that when you make it you won’t be put down.
Angel Nduka-Nwosu is a writer, journalist and editor. She moonlights occasionally as a podcaster on As Angel Was Sayin’. Catch her on all socials @asangelwassayin.