Light Work by Dear Patriarchy

Girlboss Toxicity

Jennifer Shafiro & Lisa Lynn Season 3 Episode 13

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Welcome to series 3, episode 13 where we’re discussing the toxicity of the girlboss mentality and how it sets out to use feminism as a cloak for capitalism. We talk about how prominent “girlboss” companies and figureheads successfully weaponised guilt and shame to force women deeper into hustle culture and dispensed advice from a place of privilege that is inaccessible to most women. Jenni dives into her experience of how the impact of the pandemic has pushed women and carers even further away from regularly accessing the resources and support needed to achieve “girlboss goals”. We explore the meaning behind the phrase “Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss” and how it’s an intentional label intended to be un-intimidating and to uphold the corporate tradition of systemic racism and misogyny.

- We used information taken from Alex Abad-Santos' June 2021 article for Vox entitled "The Death of the Girlboss" in our discussion.

- Please check out our "Feminism 101" suggested reading list here if you're at a loose end for a great read from a Feminist author.