As capitalist logic colonizes every dimension of our lives, commodifying our work, our relationships and even our political resistance, the feminist movement has not been spared. Capitalism is based on individuality, and as its tendrils wrap around the heart of feminism, it gives birth to a far more vile form of feminism – choice feminism.
The rise of choice feminism
Electoral feminism draws on the triumphs of second-wave feminism, builds on the ontological edifice of achieving equality and eliminating gender discrimination, and asserts that women’s empowerment is driven by personal agency without systemic barriers.
Source: FII
The debate about the historical and structural conditions of individual decisions, the evaluation of women’s decisions and the analysis of their consequences have been widely criticized within the framework of the feminist decision-making paradigm, which values autonomy and freedom. This doctrine leads to political gridlock as the critical analysis of individual choices within the structural framework demarcates the “bad feminists.”
The #girlboss phenomenon
Girl boss feminism emerged in the 2010s as a cultural phenomenon that promised to balance feminist politics with entrepreneurial ambitions. This term became famous through the New York Times bestseller #Girlbosswritten by Sophia Amoruso, the founder of the clothing brand Nasty Gal, which eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2016. When this book was written in 2014, women were dramatically underrepresented in business and Amoruso’s rise to success was hailed as a feat of female empowerment and a symbol of feminism.
As impressive as their corporate prominence was, their empire was based on white privilege, electoral politics and neoliberal capitalism, not on feminism that advocates for social, economic and political equality for all. By championing individual advancement within existing hierarchies, Girl Boss feminism ignores how systems of oppression operate intersectionally: a black woman faces both racism and sexism, a disabled woman faces disability and gender discrimination, and working-class women of color overcome compounded barriers that no personal development book can dismantle.
Actually, an investigation of The Sunday Times discovered that Amoruso’s company was paying its garment workers in a Leicester factory an hourly wage of £3.50 – much less than the minimum wage of £8.72 for over-25s – exposing the fundamental hypocrisy of Girl Boss feminism: the empowerment of some women inevitably relies on the exploitation of other, more marginalized women further down the supply chain.
Girl boss feminism emerged in the 2010s as a cultural phenomenon that promised to balance feminist politics with entrepreneurial ambitions.
Amoruso’s case illustrates a broader pattern within girl-boss feminism, which operates within a capitalist neoliberal framework. Originally created to empower women newly entering the workforce – free from the misogynistic biases and gender stereotypes of previous generations – and to celebrate their achievements, it has quickly become a vehicle for toxic productivity and a means of trapping women in capitalist structures.
Source: FII
This “pop feminism” began by praising women for their professional and professional achievements and eventually used the achievement of such achievements as a means of assessing self-esteem. In short, it is just another way to dehumanize women as tools of the capitalist empire. It says that if you’re a woman and aren’t capable of securing that coveted corner office job or aiming for that promotion, you’re simply not being productive enough, trying hard enough, or hustling enough. They let the patriarchy win.
This philosophy is more or less represented in the playbook entitled “Lean In” written by Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg. As a personal development book, it describes how women tend to unconsciously hold themselves back from career advancement and encourages working women to negotiate better salaries and working conditions to achieve the so-calledGlass ceiling‘, acknowledging bouts of imposter syndrome and enjoying one’s successes while continuing to strive for more.
As a feminist doctrine, however, it falls dangerously short of expectations. It leads women to internalize their own discrimination, to believe that failure at interviews or salary increases is solely due to their work ethic or mindset, completely ignoring the presence of gender discrimination within the organization and individualizing structural and institutional barriers.
The toll of hustle culture on women
Furthermore, this indoctrination into the “hustle culture” that permeates society has negative effects on women, such as burnout and exhaustion in their professional lives. In this patriarchal arena, one is expected to work around the clock Think of exhaustion as ambition. Numerous Studies have shown that women tend to avoid entering and performing in competitive spaces. This shows that the metrics used to define success in a zero-sum winner-take-all system typical of men can leave women dissatisfied, stressed and exhausted.
Numerous Studies have shown that women tend to avoid entering and performing in competitive spaces. This shows that the metrics used to define success in a zero-sum winner-take-all system typical of men can leave women dissatisfied, stressed and exhausted.
In fact, the mere thought of competing with another woman can be triggering increased stress reactions and misfortune. Research even shows this simulated competitive situations can increase cortisol, the body’s stress hormonesignaling stress takes place motivation. These results show that rigid hierarchies coupled with relentless competition were not designed for women who value collaboration and connection in the face of strife and conflict.
Source: FII
This phenomenon can be particularly insidious when assessing women’s performance, as the systemic factors that lead to gender discrimination are still pervasive and manifest in gender pay gaps, unequal opportunities, slow promotion rates, and microaggressions. These often result from deeply rooted gender stereotypes, such as: Maternity penalty (where a woman faces reduced pay after becoming a mother due to loss of work experience, reduced productivity or discrimination) and that ‘Maybe baby‘ Risk (in which managers’ expectations that a child-freea woman of childbearing age becoming a mother in the near future affects her risk perception of employing this woman).
A woman who is unconsciously affected by this type of bias and complains about stagnant wages, lack of success in promotion, or resentment at being excluded from the labor market will tend to interpret the problem as a personal problem and believe that her failure is due to her incompetence, which may lead her to sacrifice other aspects of her life in favor of improving her work productivity in the hope of becoming equal to her male colleagues.
The “girl and boss” narrative, for all its promises of empowerment, ultimately serves as a cover for capitalism’s adoption of feminist ideals.
The “girl and boss” narrative, for all its promises of empowerment, ultimately serves as a cover for capitalism’s adoption of feminist ideals. By reframing systemic oppression as individual inadequacies and exhaustion as ambition, women are trapped in a cycle of self-blame and overwork while patriarchal structures remain unchallenged. Until we reject the false promise of individual progress through endless productivity and reclaim feminism as a movement for structural change, the female boss phenomenon will continue to burn out women in service of the capitalism that perpetuates their oppression.
References:
https://web.stanford.edu/~niederle/Niederle.Vesterlund.QJE.2007.pdf
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/rethinking-rivalry-competition-and-collaboration/202510/beyond-girl-boss-breaking-the-burnout
https://wearerestless.org/2021/09/30/girlboss-feminism
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/boohoo-fashion-giant-faces-slavery-investigation-57s3hxcth
https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s40750-025-00269-2?sharing_token=fh0IBzq_rLXzrLX6ZA68dve4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY61GWKc2w H7sVhYv6MXp7nU2rHFVw-Xo8hrWeXsuCClWFjmUnmAPbpyb70DSv59qPyKiGX-HFlZIYtMCSXjc5URyqTekMgmdodi_OW47LGuZJXwgX4zmod3Sqwf9auV5ow=
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/rethinking-rivalry-competition-and-collaboration/202510/beyond-girl-boss-breaking-the-burnout
https://19thnews.org/2023/04/workplace-discrimination-mothers-open-secret
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jasp.12799
https://harvardpolitics.com/girlboss-gaslight-gatekeep
Insha Hamid works in film and television and has a strong interest in intersectional feminism, public policy, and how progress can be achieved at the intersection of economic development and social justice. When she’s not immersed in a philosophy book or writing a political article, you can find her headbanging at a death metal gig, shredding a rock song on the drums, or filming a horror movie with her Canon 6D Mark II.
