Is Having a Boyfriend Truly Embarrassing? Exploring Vogue’s Viral Opinion Piece
Is Having a Boyfriend Truly Embarrassing? Exploring Vogue’s Viral Opinion Piece
By MacKenna Sherer — November 18, 2025
Let’s admit it: we’ve all come across a “soft launch” on Instagram. It sends viewers on an investigation, zooming in and analyzing every detail, from the obscure hand on a steering wheel to the dinner plate at the table for two. The trend of subtly posting relationships through “launches” has reshaped how relationships appear online.
“Soft launches” have led many to wonder why women have shifted from curating couple-centric feeds to subtle, and rare, glimpses of significant others over the past couple of years.
In October, Vogue writer Chante Joseph took the internet by storm with her viral take on the presence of modern-day relationships. Joseph’s article “Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?” explores how the once-desired “Instagram boyfriends” have lost their appeal in social media culture.
Where boyfriend content once was a necessity to post, it has become arguably “lame” or overly “boastful.” She dives deep into how consistent posting of a boyfriend comes across as cringy, going as far as to state that audiences are “icked out” by the overload of boyfriend content.
To see if Joseph’s thoughts resonate, Square asked our Instagram followers for their take: Did Vogue miss the mark, or is Joseph on to something?
More than half of the voters believed that Joseph made a solid point, and conversations across the internet back the idea that social media has now become a space for women to take back their identity.
It seems that the time for centering content around a relationship is over. Many claim that women tend to give too much in relationships, while men put too little effort in return.
Joseph clarifies there’s absolutely no shame in falling in love, yet the internet suggests otherwise when it comes to showcasing that love online.
“Posting a boyfriend is only embarrassing if the boyfriend is embarrassing,” says one commenter.
This statement has become a universal mantra in reference to the voiced disappointment women find in modern dating culture.
Interestingly, opinions on Joseph’s article are split sharply between women in relationships and those who are single. While Vogue’s take more closely implies that boyfriends are embarrassing on and off the social media scene, many online users insist that relationships remain desirable—as long as the boyfriend in question isn’t the problem.
Maybe that’s the modern test of romance: If he is respectful and puts in the work, perhaps he’s earned beyond a “soft launch.” Otherwise? He’s staying off the Instagram feed.
What do you think? Are boyfriends embarrassing?
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