“Soft Girls” on TikTok: Why young women are now swapping their careers for self-care

More and more young women are sure that their...Soft Girl Erabegins. They want “a life of ease” and quit their jobs to achieve this. Luckily, their partners are financially well positioned and can help finance their soft lifestyle. The trend was already in the media last year when 15 to 24 year olds in Sweden stated their trends for 2024 in a youth barometer survey. This year, 14 percent of girls said they had joined the trend. OnTikTokcan be found under theHashtag #Softgirl582,000 posts.

Basically it's about that„Soft Girls“above all,Self-care and femininityto put first. Finding peace, finding relaxation, calming the nervous system and minimizing stress – these are the lofty goals of the “Soft Girl” lifestyle. To do this, Soft Girls regularly connect with their breath, walk barefoot and mindfully across the lawn, listen to their bodies and stop again and again to take in the sight of nature. It's about letting go of everything that forced her to be hard instead of soft. And that also includes wage work.

Experts suspect that the“Girl boss” mentalityWomen have been so stressed in recent years that...“Soft Girls” as a countermovementwere created. The Girl Bosses are independent women who assert themselves in male-dominated areas and make a career. But that's exactly what seems to be too strenuous for many women in the long run. They just don't want to fight anymore.

A life in balance and without stressful work – sounds too good to be true? It is too. Because most of us are forced to pay our own rent and work for it. The world around us doesn’t suddenly become cotton candy just because we decided to live a “soft” life. Anyone who has not inherited wealth or successfully invested in crypto will have to become financially dependent on the “soft girl” trend.

The concept of the “soft girl” is actually not that new. Actually, it's actually quite old and outdated, because if you look at it closely, it's just a new and kind of cute term for "stay-at-home girlfriend" or "housewife". Women who voluntarily give up their jobs and fighting to concentrate fully on being soft - the patriarchy can hardly believe its luck. It goes without saying that there are no “soft boys”.

And all of this regression is taking place in Sweden, of all places, a country that we have always looked up to for its strong feminist values ​​and which is considered a pioneering nation when it comes to equality. Accordingly, feminists are not very enthusiastic about the “soft girl” trend. Gudrun Schyman, co-founder of the Swedish feminist party Feministiskt initiativ, describes this trend in the BBC as a “dangerous step backwards” for gender equality.

Not everyone has to have a career and for some the concept of the dependent housewife may ultimately work despite high divorce rates and the threat of poverty in old age. But with “Girl Bosses” and “Soft Girls” there is also something in between. You don't have to choose between a job and a mindful, balanced life. We can stand on our own two feet financially and still set boundaries at work, avoid people-pleasing and know our own worth. Anyone who resolves to take more care of themselves during their evenings and weekends has already taken a big step forward. You can also integrate a mindful morning routine with yoga and journaling into your everyday life without throwing everything away.