Salva Mubarak Senior Features Writer

Raise your hand if you had (or have, no judgments!) a mug/diary/poster emblazoned with the word ‘Girl Boss’ in cheerful calligraphy.

The Tumblr era of the 2010s glamourised the hustle culture, encouraging women to give their career and professional life their all. The Gen Zs of 2023, however, refuse to subscribe to the phenomenon.

Enter the ‘Snail Girl’ Era

Over the past few years, people have begun experiencing professional burnout at relatively young ages and there’s been an increase in stress-related issues, especially for women. This has led to a growing appreciation for a calmer life that puts self-care above hustle culture and overworking.

The term was coined by designer Sienna Ludbey who wrote an essay about “being in her ‘snail girl’ era”. According to her, a ‘snail girl’ takes her time and creates to create. “She’s running her own race, and maybe that race isn’t going anywhere but home and back to bed.

©Pexels

The term started gaining popularity on TikTok and Reels, with many creators showing their own version of the ‘snail girl’ lifestyle that includes calmer morning rituals and self-care practices like leisurely skincare routines. This is also in conjunction to ‘lazy girl jobs’, another viral trend that encouraged women who wanted to be financially independent yet stay away from the rat race to pick up low effort jobs that paid decently.

In her essay, Ludbey wrote that as a ‘girl boss’ she felt constant pressure “to be perceived as successful”. She started feeling the shift in her own thought process after the pandemic when she realised that a purposeful life isn’t always linked to success.

But is the ‘Snail Girl’ life sustainable?

While it might do wonders for your mental health, it’s ultimately not a financially viable method for most people. According to a report in Insider, the root cause of the popularity of the trend lies in “Gen Z’s pervasive aversion to anxiety”. This has led to the disenchantment of a life that prioritises work over everything.

©Unsplash

Being a ‘girl boss’ might be fulfilling and worthwhile to a lot of women, both milennials and Gen Zs. There is also the fact that most of the time, hustling and overworking is not a choice but necessity for some women. Being a ‘snail girl’ can appeal to many women who choose to live a slower-paced life and reject hustle culture in favour of smelling the metaphorical roses.

So, are you ready to enter your ‘snail girl’ era or are you still riding the ‘girl boss’ express?