The Girlboss Debate Misses The Real Problem
April 28, 2026
It started gaining real traction a few months ago with Helen Andrews’ viral essay, The Great Feminization, in Compact magazine, where she argued that the feminization of our institutions has contributed to many of the social problems we see today. Then, just weeks ago, Sheryl Sandberg announced a major pivot for her Lean In organization: a new, younger CEO, staff cuts, and a sharpened focus on battling the “manosphere” and “tradwife” trends while doubling down on girlboss messaging for the next generation. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.
I’ve been right in the middle of it. Through my articles for Evie and my pieces for the Institute for Family Studies, I’ve put the spotlight on the war on motherhood and shared my own story and the stories of friends who waited too long to start families or feel invisible in our anti-motherhood era. Many of us are now single and childless in our late 30s or early 40s. We grew up with the “girl power” anthems of the ’90s that seamlessly morphed into the girlboss ethos of the mid-aughts into the 2010s. One close friend tried to freeze her eggs at 42 and was essentially laughed out of the clinic. “You should have done this years ago,” they told her. Others are married but spent their prime fertile years chasing promotions, degrees, wardrobes and “experiences.” They confide in me their regrets over coffee or drinks. These women are real. They exist in every social circle I know. And they deserve to be heard.
