The Gen Z boss meme, explained
Critics of Gen Z women in the workplace found a new target: a playful video posted by tbh skincare on Instagram and TikTok.
The video is a part of the "Boots and a slicked back bun" trend — started by @maisieisobel on June 29 — where a group of people film themselves in a circle chanting two qualities about themselves twice with simple corresponding dance moves. Several female employees at tbh skincare participated in the trend calling out, "Gen Z boss and a mini" followed by "itty bitty titties and a bob" and "5'3 and an attitude."
According to Know Your Meme, the video garnered around 2 million views on Instagram within the first two days after posting it. It now has nearly 5.5 million views on Instagram and over 3.5 million views on TikTok. While the video appears to have resonated with its target audience, once it escaped to the wider internet people began to poke fun.
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The comments on TikTok included messages like, "they should make marketing degrees more expensive," "this is so millenial core," and "The HR department after laying off most the engineering team."
The video got reposted on X where sexism runs rampant. One user posted it with the caption, "Is this the longhouse," a reference to the concept of a woke, matriarchal society popularized in alt-right spaces.
People are quick to attack videos of young women having anything to do with the workplace. Last year, there was the harsh conversation around the Gen Z woman who complained about working a 9 to 5 and even before that was the project managers working from the pool.
Elena is a tech reporter and the resident Gen Z expert at Mashable. She covers TikTok and digital trends. She recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in American History. Email her at [email protected] or follow her @ecaviar_.
