From Girl Boss to Snail Girl: Why Women are Choosing Slow Living Over Hustle Culture

“You don’t have to do it all. You just have to do what matters most to you.”

Every time I open my social media, I get to learn a new trend, but this one trend caught my attention the most as I could relate to it more than any other trend I came across. Goodbye Girl Math and Girl Boss and welcome Snail Girl! Now, I’ve seen women being supportive of new trends – especially women-centric ones – and I’ve seen some pretty criticizing videos as well. But this trend has won many hearts with its introduction.

Now, we know what the “Girl Boss” Era or Girl-bossing trend is all about – I mean, I have posters and mugs to prove my support to all girl bosses out there – so what’s about this Snail Girl Trend that has women ditching the Girl Boss trend?

The Snail Girl Era, as it is called, represents a shift from the hustle culture of the Girl Boss Era. It’s about supporting and encouraging women to live a slow-paced lifestyle and choose self-care and happiness over hustle culture and overwork.

Introduced by Gen Z, this Snail Girl Era is taking social media by storm, but what is it all about? What does this trend have that has women fawning over it and choosing to follow it over the girl boss trend? Is it truly a trend to follow for better well-being and life?

Let’s see, shall we?

What is the Snail Girl Era?

The Snail Girl is a Gen Z cultural trend that encourages and celebrates a slower and deliberate pace in life. This trend allows room for mindfulness, self-care, and well-being over overworking and girl-bossing hustle culture lifestyle. This relatively new trend takes its name from the slow pace of the snail, so I guess it makes sense…

This era, unlike the Girl Boss era, is rejecting the notion that success must come at the expense of your mental, emotional, and physical health.

If you follow this trend, then you are encouraged to prioritize self-care, mental health, and work-life balance above the relentless pursuit of professional success and hustle culture. It’s about being a snail – figuratively, of course – and enjoying the little things in life, finding joy in life’s little moments, and choosing rest and pleasure above productivity.

Makes sense though, doesn’t it? But, what does this snail girl era have over the girl boss era that has women choosing and following it?

Why Women Are Ditching the Girl Boss Era?

Sienna Ludbey, who essentially introduced the Snail Girl Era, says, “A snail girl takes her time and creates. The speed at which everything is put out into the world is just getting faster, but she doesn’t care. She’s running her own race, and maybe that race isn’t going anywhere but home and back to bed.” Ludbey is the owner of Hello Sisi, an online accessory outlet.

One of the key reasons women are gravitating towards and embracing the snail girl era is that it brings with it the recognition of the toll that the girl boss era had on mental well-being. There have been studies that have highlighted that the pursuit of professional success without taking a break and the constant pressure to achieve everything at once can cause burnout, anxiety, and even chronic stress.

Moreover, the Girl Boss era emphasizes the external markers of success such as material possessions and career advancements, but the Snail Girl era, unabashedly, encourages women to embrace their true selves, prioritize self-care and mental health, and choose inner happiness and peace over external validation and fast-paced success.

And let’s be honest; who, in this day and age, chooses to work in a toxic work culture? With feminism on the rise, many women are choosing to reclaim their time and prioritize what matters to them the most. This means saying goodbye to toxic work culture and introducing boundaries to make sure we have time to pursue our interests, hobbies, and of course, self-care and happiness.

If I talk about the future that this Snail Girl Era ensures, all I can say – or rather predict – is that the moment we embrace this trend mindfully, we’ll be able to choose and emphasize quality over quantity – one of the most important approaches to ensure personal growth and self-development in the future.

Tips to Embrace The Snail Girl Era For Better Well-Being

Now that we’ve covered what the Snail Girl Era is all about, let’s explore some tips that can help you transition from Girl Boss to Snail Girl, without losing who you are in the process;

1. Embrace Mindfulness and Intentional Living

To embrace a slow lifestyle, you need to embrace mindfulness in your daily life. You can easily incorporate mindfulness into your routine in the form of meditation, deep breathing exercises, or simply living an intentional life aka taking intentional moments to embrace the little moments in life as you live it. Mindfulness, as a practice, can also help you reduce stress and the risk of burnout.

2. Say “No” When It Matters

Another way to live the snail girl era is to say “NO” when needed. This means setting clear boundaries between your work life and personal life. You can also do so by saying “YES” to frequent mental health breaks, prioritizing self-care activities, and embracing your downtime or “me time”.

3. Simplify Your Life

And I don’t just mean removing all toxic relationships from your life. Simplifying your life can include decluttering your physical space, meaning embracing minimalism as well as cleaning your digital space, meaning unfollowing social media accounts that amplify hustle culture. Simplifying your life can help you reduce stress and boost mental clarity, so give it a try.

4. Work on Your Relationships

To be a Snail Girl, you need to invest and work on your relationships with your friends and family. Strong social connections and networking can help you embrace your Snail Girl era and improve your well-being as well. After all, relationships are also an important part of our well-being and negative people can only affect us negatively, right?

5. Pursue Slow Hobbies And Interests

You can also embrace the snail girl era by engaging in activities that promote a slower pace in life. Now, I know how fun it can be to enjoy more adventurous activities, but I guess there’s another kind of pleasure in enjoying slower-paced activities such as reading, gardening, and even cooking. These hobbies can be therapeutic in their own way and offer a sense of fulfillment.

Girl Boss or Snail Girl: Who Would You Be?

The Snail Girl era represents a shift towards a more mindful, deliberate, and slow lifestyle for women. This era or trend is relatively new, but it has many benefits for those women who have been living the Girl Boss era and have been struggling with keeping up with a fast-paced life. The Snail Girl era is a response to the stress and burnout associated with the Girl Boss era, focusing more on prioritizing well-being and being authentic over hustle culture and overworking.

Whether you’re a Girl Boss or a Snail Girl, it’s important to incorporate elements of mindfulness and intentional living to live a happier and fulfilling life. Now, if you choose to embrace being a Snail Girl, remember to prioritize your happiness and self-care above all. Life isn’t a race but a journey and all the fun is in exploring the bumpy parts of the ride.

So, go slow or go fast, it’s up to you to decide, and if you decide to go slow, then know that that’s OK too!

As the Snail Girl Era continues to trend and take the world by storm, would you want to engage in this trend too? Let me know what you think about this transition from Girl Boss to Snail Girl in the comments below.

 Good Luck!