How Millennial Feminism Lost Gen Z

It wasn’t enough to simply be “empowered” as a woman—you had to transcend womanhood entirely. Be a “boss babe” in the boardroom. Reject traditional femininity as oppressive. View men with suspicion (or outright contempt). Delay or dismiss marriage and motherhood . This brand of feminism felt revolutionary in the 2010s. It dominated media, corporate diversity initiatives, celebrity culture, and college campuses. But something is shifting. The loudest voices of that era are growing quieter, and a new generation of young women appears to be rejecting many of its core tenets. Millennial feminism isn’t entirely gone, but its cultural dominance is fading, and we may be witnessing its slow death. The Corporate Boss Babe Myth Crumbles Millennial feminism defined female success almost exclusively through male metrics: climbing corporate ladders, out-earning men, and treating your career as the ultimate source of identity and fulfillment. “You can have it all,” the slogan went. Just like a man, but better. The reality of that lifestyle, however, has been far less glamorous. Scroll through social media and you’ll find a wave of videos showcasing women in tears over their corporate lives. One 21-year-old recent graduate went viral crying about the shock of her first 9-to-5: the endless meetings, the commute, the soul-crushing lack of time for anything meaningful. Similar clips flood TikTok under hashtags like #CorporateBurnout and #9to5struggle—women lamenting burnout, the impossibility of “work-life balance,” and the hollow feeling that comes from making spreadsheets for someone else’s profit. These videos resonate because they expose what countless women have come to realize: fulfillment cannot be found in an office cubicle, no matter how many feminist essays promised otherwise. The “girlboss” era sold women the idea that leaning in at work would bring empowerment and joy, but instead, it delivered stress, exhaustion, and regret. Conversely, however, a completely different kind of content is also exploding in popularity: “day in the life” videos of stay-at-home girlfriends and stay-at-home wives. These clips show women waking up without an alarm, making coffee for their partner, tending to the home, preparing nourishing meals, doing Pilates, journaling, or simply creating a peaceful domestic rhythm. Creators sharing these soft, feminine routines are pulling in massive audiences, and after years of being told that domesticity was boring or oppressive, many are discovering that focusing on the home can actually feel far more fulfilling than fighting for a corner office. The contrast is striking. While corporate girlies post tearful burnout confessions, stay-at-home content offers a vision of calm, purpose, and beauty in everyday femininity. It’s no surprise that women are increasingly rejecting the corporate rat race, or at least questioning why they were told domestic life and relationships were beneath them. The War on Femininity One of the strangest aspects of millennial feminism was its hostility to femininity itself. Traditional markers of womanhood, like softness, nurturing, beauty, and homemaking, were reframed as symptoms of patriarchal brainwashing. Women were encouraged to adopt more androgynous styles and reject “frilly” interests. But look at the cultural shift that’s happening now. Influencers like Nara Smith and Ballerina Farm (Hannah Neeleman) have amassed millions of followers by embracing exactly what millennial feminism scorned. Smith films herself in elegant dresses making meals from scratch. Ballerina Farm showcases life on a homestead with her large family, baking bread and tending to her children. Their content celebrates homemaking, beauty, and traditional feminine aesthetics, and women can’t get enough of it. The celebrity landscape tells a similar story. The androgynous icons of the 2010s (think Pink’s rebellious style or Ruby Rose’s gender-fluid presentation) have been eclipsed by hyper-feminine stars like Sydney Sweeney and Sabrina Carpenter . Curves, dresses, sweetness, and unapologetic girlishness are back in style. What was once dismissed as regressive is now aspirational for many. Traditional markers of womanhood, like softness, nurturing, beauty, and homemaking, were reframed as symptoms of patriarchal brainwashing. Another perfect example of this pendulum swing is the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show . For decades, it stood as the pinnacle of glamorous, unapologetic femininity: a celebration of everything girly, sexy, and beautiful, complete with angel wings, bombshell models, and high-fashion fantasy. Millennial feminism and woke outrage culture, unfortunately, then declared it problematic, sexist, and outdated. Under pressure from activist outrage, body positivity campaigns, and #MeToo-era criticism, the show was canceled in 2019 . Actual audiences, though, were heartbroken by the move, and the push for the VS Fashion Show to return refused to go away. But when the show did finally return in 2024, after years of popular demand, it flopped . The attempt to make it more “inclusive” and less traditionally feminine was poorly received. The new show felt diluted, apologetic, and lacking the glamour that once made it iconic. Organizers had tried to satisfy the activist class, who had never really understood the appeal of the show in the first place. Thankfully, executives eventually listened to the audience and delivered a more proper, beautiful Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 2025. The message was clear: femininity and classic beauty are officially back in style . What feminists tried to shame out of existence is what many women actually want to see and celebrate. Millennial feminism claimed to advocate for women while waging war on what it actually means to be one. A growing number of women (and companies) are now opting out of that fight. Marriage and Motherhood Make a Comeback? Perhaps the most radical element of millennial feminism was its open disdain for marriage and motherhood. These were painted as traps that limited women’s potential. “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle,” the old feminist saying went, updated for the 2010s with endless think pieces about how marriage was outdated and children were optional (or even environmentally irresponsible ). For decades, the data reflected this cultural push. Marriage and fertility rates fell sharply . But recent years show signs that the freefall may be leveling off. After hitting a more than 50-year low in 2021, the U.S. adjusted marriage rate rebounded in 2022 to 31.2 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women, returning to 2018 levels. While overall marriage rates remain historically low (around 6.1 per 1,000 population in recent provisional data), the sharpest drops appear to have slowed. Also telling is that for every age group, those who identify as politically conservative are more likely to be married. Fertility rates tell a more mixed story. The U.S. total fertility rate hit record lows around 1.6 births per woman in 2024–2025, continuing a long downward trend. However, some analysts note that the steepest declines have moderated post-pandemic, and certain cohorts (particularly those prioritizing family) are showing different patterns. Specifically, women who identify as conservative and are between the ages of 25-35 are more likely to have children today than at any point up until 1980, with 71% being parents compared to 65%. Just as telling as raw numbers, however, are the shifting cultural signals that we know women especially are influenced by. When millennial feminism was in its heyday, celebrity divorces and progressive stars eschewing marriage and parenthood entirely helped shape the way my generation viewed family life. After watching older millennials struggle with loneliness, delayed family formation, and regret, there is hope that Gen Z will be less eager to repeat the same pattern. But today’s young celebrities are increasingly embracing marriage and motherhood more publicly. Hailey Bieber has spoken warmly about family life. Millie Bobby Brown married young and has opened up about the joys of motherhood. Sofia Richie Grainge also welcomed children and appears to be thriving in her role as a wife and mother. And that’s not to mention how Taylor Swift , arguably the most famous woman on the planet, will soon be walking down the aisle in what will likely be the media’s most pro-marriage coverage in generations. After watching older millennials struggle with loneliness, delayed family formation, and regret, there is hope that Gen Z will be less eager to repeat the same pattern. A Turning Point Millennial feminism sold women a narrow, often miserable vision of life: work like a man, reject what makes you distinctly female, and find meaning in power and independence above all else. Many tried it. Some succeeded on paper but felt empty inside . Others burned out entirely. Women and society as a whole still have a long way to go in fully detoxing from this radicalism. Corporate cultures, media narratives, and educational institutions remain steeped in these ideas. But this moment in history feels like a turning point. Women are reclaiming femininity, rediscovering the value of relationships and family, and questioning the lies they were told about happiness. The death of millennial feminism doesn’t mean women are going backward. It means they’re finally being allowed to move forward—as actual women, not as imitation men. And if the rising popularity of homemakers, young mothers, and feminine expression is any indication, many are happier for it. Lauren Chen is a political and social commentator, and host of the show Anathema, available now on all podcast platforms.