Yeah, most lead characters are, by design, "bosses" in terms of capability. But when I refer to the girlboss trope, I'm talking about a specific writing pattern where female leads are built around surface level empowerment, relying heavily on traditionally masculine traits, and lacking deeper complexity. These characters are typically portrayed as super competent, emotionally restrained, and largely flawless, so instead of feeling like real people, they come off as symbolic or representative of an idea, and can skew towards being more masculine.
It's a trope when this style of character is repeated across media, not because it's bad to have strong women, but because these women are often written as strong instead of being written as interesting, vulnerable, or multidimensional.
When it done right: Daenerys (Game of Thrones)
She's resilient and capable, but also grounded, layered, and never has to reject her femininity to be seen as strong. She feels like a complete character. Her empathy, her nurturing and vulnerability are all part of her strength.
When it's done wrong: Abby (TLOU2)
She is a good example of the trope because her writing leans heavily into the physically strong archetype. She's emotionally closed off for large portions of the game, hyper-trained, and built more like a tank than a person with layers. And she forgoes her femininity.
That's the version of the girlboss trope I think we should move past, not because the traits in isolation are bad, but because we deserve better writing for female leads.
