The 'girlboss' is back. But she's had a rebrand.
This story was originally published in The Ritual ISSUE 16. You can subscribe here for free and read stories like this every Thursday, direct to your inbox.
In 2014, #Girlboss was all the rage. Sophia Amoruso, founder of Nasty Gal, popularised the term which defined an entire movement. Sophia capitalised on her success as a founder and published a book titled #GIRLBOSS, sharing her start-up experiences and advice to women in business.
According to a study from the Journal of Business Venturing, ‘girlboss was presented as a shift in the cultural perception of women in leadership and entrepreneurship, highlighting their achievements, and encouraging other women to pursue their aspirations. It was positioned as an inspirational and empowering term, representing women as confident, assertive, and successful in their chosen endeavours.’
But with the quick rise of popularity, also came a quick fall from public grace. As well as Sophia Amoruso facing allegations of poor workplace conditions, the term itself was criticised for ‘its potential to oversimplify and trivialise women's experiences in the workplace.’ That is, when do we ever call a man a ‘boy boss’. It was a term that disappeared from our vernacular in the same way that these founders hid from the limelight. But, there’s been a resurgence of the girlboss narrative across social media - work hard, play hard, and don’t let the grind stop. But make sure you keep up your wellness routine to maintain #balance.
Vogue Business has reported on a similar resurgence of ‘girlboss’ style content from female founders. Style-ish podcast dove into the highs and lows of the trend and what’s new about this return. Is the return a bad thing? Not necessarily. But our curiousity is piqued and we want to know how to discern between healthy ambition and content that fuels a desire to burn ourselves out.
Is the return of hustle culture a good thing. We ask a psychologist.
Today, we’re asking the experts for their take on all things #girlboss and hustle culture. Ambition can be a great thing, but what happens if we take it too far, and what are the warning signs. We ask psychologist Bec McWilliam for her insights.
Q: Why do you think we’re seeing a return of “girl-boss” culture online right now?
Bec: I think a lot of people are craving certainty, control and meaning right now. We’re living in a time where the cost of living is rising, people feel pressure to “keep up”, and social media constantly exposes us to other people’s highlight reels.
In that environment, hustle culture can feel seductive because it offers a very clear message: work harder, optimise more, achieve more, and you’ll finally feel successful, secure or fulfilled. The problem is that many of us have already lived through one version of the “girl boss” era and saw the emotional cost that often came with it. Constant productivity can easily become tied to self-worth, where rest starts to feel guilt-inducing instead of restorative.
From a psychological perspective, burnout often doesn’t happen because someone is lazy or incapable - it happens because they’ve spent too long overriding their nervous system’s signals. We can admire ambition and drive while also recognising that chronic stress, over-identification with work and constant performance can have significant impacts on mental and physical wellbeing.
There’s also something important about the way hustle culture is packaged online now. It’s often wrapped in “wellness”, self-improvement or empowerment language, which can make overworking feel healthy or aspirational when, for some people, it’s actually masking exhaustion, anxiety or fear of slowing down.
At the same time, I don’t think all aspects of “girl-boss” culture are inherently negative. There can also be something genuinely empowering about women feeling ambitious, financially independent, creative and confident enough to take up space professionally. For many women, particularly those who historically weren’t encouraged to pursue leadership, entrepreneurship or visibility, seeing other women succeed can feel motivating and validating.
I think the key difference is whether ambition is coming from alignment and purpose, or from chronic pressure and self-worth being tied entirely to achievement. Healthy ambition allows room for boundaries, relationships, rest and identity outside of productivity. It’s possible to be driven and successful without living in a constant state of exhaustion.
Q: Ambition is an entirely personal experience, but what are the warning signs of the turning point from ambition to burnout?
Bec: Healthy ambition tends to feel energising overall, even when it’s challenging. Burnout, on the other hand, often feels like chronic depletion.
Some common warning signs include emotional exhaustion, irritability, reduced motivation, difficulty concentrating, increase in cynicism, disrupted sleep, increased anxiety, feeling disconnected from yourself or others, and no longer enjoying things you previously cared about. I also often see people become stuck in “survival mode”, constantly busy but emotionally flat.
If rest creates guilt, if downtime feels unsafe, or if achievement is the only thing making someone feel “enough”, it can be a sign that the relationship with ambition has shifted into something more emotionally costly.
Q: How can seeing this content and our workplaces play into the creation of burnout?
Bec: Humans are wired for belonging, so workplace culture and social norms have a powerful influence on behaviour. If everyone around you is overworking, skipping breaks, answering emails late at night or glorifying exhaustion, that can quickly become normalised.
People often compare themselves against the environment around them. So if the collective message is “successful people are always available and constantly productive”, many people start ignoring their own limits in order to feel valued, accepted or secure.
I think this is particularly amplified online because we’re no longer only comparing ourselves to colleagues or friends - we’re comparing ourselves to thousands of highly curated versions of success every single day.
Q: Is there a psychological impact to constantly consuming “high-achieving” content online?
Bec: Yes, absolutely. Our brains are constantly absorbing social information, even when we don’t realise it consciously. Repeated exposure to “rise and grind” style content can slowly shift what feels normal, expected or acceptable.
For some people, motivational content can genuinely inspire action and growth. But for others, constant exposure to highly curated productivity content can increase comparison, inadequacy, anxiety and pressure to optimise every part of life.
Social media also tends to compress reality. We see someone’s achievements, routines or success without seeing their support systems, privilege, struggles, burnout, editing or recovery time. That can create unrealistic internal standards.
Humans also have a tendency to move the goalpost. Once one milestone is reached, the nervous system quickly adapts and starts chasing the next thing. Without intentional reflection, people can end up stuck in a cycle where external achievement never quite creates the internal feeling they were hoping for.
Q: For someone listening who feels stuck between wanting success and wanting peace, what advice would you give them?
Bec: I’d encourage people to stop viewing success and peace as mutually exclusive. Sustainable success usually requires some degree of rest, recovery, connection and nervous system regulation.
I think it’s important to ask yourself: “What does success actually mean to me personally?” Not what social media says. Not what other people value. But what genuinely aligns with your values, lifestyle and wellbeing.
There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious. Ambition can be purposeful, creative and deeply fulfilling. But if someone is constantly sacrificing their health, relationships, identity or emotional wellbeing in pursuit of achievement, it may be worth exploring whether they’re building a life that actually feels meaningful to them - or one that simply looks impressive from the outside.
Sometimes the healthiest thing we can do is redefine success in a way that includes being a human being, not just a high-performing one.
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