Girl Math *eye roll*

I am an award winning accountant with a medal of achievement in my chosen field, and a degree in Maths, and I hate that I sort of identify and get the girl math thing.

I have O level grade C in Maths <twirls> and several Brownie badges and think girl math is twee and you STEM lot who identify with it are cringe.

YANBU, not against this back drop https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/mar/10/boys-widen-gap-over-girls-in-maths-and-science-in-england-study-reveals?CMP=ShareiOSAppp_Other

Me too. Any Brits calling it ‘math’ or saying ‘do the math” need a good slap.

Yes I realise that; they're qualified to explain how it's used on tiktok, but (just as if 'having a blonde moment' had a resurgence on there) it's about more than just that isn't it? It's historic context around girls and maths, inequality, calling women girls.... bigger stuff.

Well… seeing as the term originated from TikTok, likely from someone under-25, there is really no reason to dismiss that explanation. I think here lies an issue - people taking a phrase and attaching their own context despite being told otherwise and as a result getting themselves offended. It’s like me taking the phrase ‘cost of living crisis’ and convincing myself that it’s derogatory and designed to shame those on the poverty line, when in fact it came from describing an economic event.

It’s up there with the equally annoying “my bad” 🙄

At least four posts saying it's an American term as though that's relevant to the OP?

It's the same land that gave us Karen then decide to use it against any woman complaining about anything to dimiss complaint however resonable but especially ones that don't look young.

From land that twice elected Trump - a man with an unsavory reputation round women.

Perhaps some are worried its not actually a fun term - but a misogynistic put down from a country with a real problem with women and women's rights then exported to rest of world via internet.

I suspect most UK girls/women using it are trying to use it ironically as of course girls are good at maths goes without saying - problem is I've literally has primary teacher say in front of me that girls aren't good at maths and maths is more a boy things - so I'm not sure evey section of society is as on board with of course women and girls are good at maths.

Plus there is reasearch that telling girls before maths test they aren't good at maths even if it just because they are female they do less well on maths tests.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3337753/

https://spsp.org/news/character-and-context-blog/wu-boys-girls-math-performance

I'm 36, use tiktok and as there's equal arguably funnier 'boy math', I really don't get the issue. In fact, 'girl math' is women laughing at themselves, 'boy math' is women laughing at men.

Boy math is standing eye to eye with a 5ft9 woman and insisting he's 6ft
Boy math is asking a woman what she brings to the table, when he lives with his mum and doesn't even own his own fucking table
Boy math is insisting “men are visual creatures” yet miraculously 'don't see mess' and the chores that need doing
Boy math is insisting on 50/50 - but only on finances, not housework, childcare, life admin, free time...

Need I go on? Of all the things for women to froth about, this is not it.

YANBU, op.

Just another silly misogynistic expression.

It wouldn't matter if the outdated sexist stereotypes about women and girls' mathematical ability didn't still persist.

Agreed. Internet terminology and the trends in language and pop culture that stem from social media, transcend nationality.

But I've noticed American-directed xenophobia is pretty rife here, so it's not really surprising.

I can see where I wasn't clear enough. Poor use of language on my part.

Yeah, this.

And can we have a 'youth-splaining' term to cover people under 25 who explain why these things 'reeeeallly aren't misogynistic, you just haven't understood how we use it on tiktok' to anyone over 30?

I don't like the use of girl in women over 18 in general

It's like 'blonde' jokes 30 years ago. All so light hearted and just silly fun yet profoundly misogynistic.

That's how you interpret it, fine. I don't.

My DD and her friends say girl math. They're doing maths and further maths at Alevel. It's a joke. Wouldn't take it too seriously.

But... it really doesn't mean that girls/women are bad at math(s). It's a stupid comment, same as if someone at work is going on holiday and someone else gives it the 'take me in your suitcase!'. Or your neighbour is cleaning their car - 'can you do mine next, har har'. Marginally funnier than those because it's a fresh trend, but it likely will become a cliche.

This thread is a mess. People who aren't using phrases correctly getting offended by them (see mansplaining!).

For example on a Facebook page where someone declared they were 100 days since the start of something, a commenter queried how that could be as they were 83 days a couple of days ago. A different person comments "girl math".

Hard to say without context, but I'd take this more as a jokey comment from the third person. For example say it's 100 days into a running 10k plan or something (I know it's not) and the original person has retrospectively added on 15 days to how long they've been running 5ks, because they went a quick jog those days. It's because achievements are hard, and it's not unheard of for people to exaggerate for a quick dopamine fix. That would be an example of 'girl math', sort of. Not a particularly good example or funny comment, but not insulting and it doesn't sound like person C was trying to say that women can't do maths.

It f*s me off big time, particularly as I have a DD on track for a first class degree in Maths at Oxford University. She could outwit the idiots who say this kind of thing in a nanosecond.

I have only heard as a way to justify non essentials.

This £100 dress is really only £10 as I will wear it 10 times.

This is it. Mansplaining is taking the mick out of the men, not the women.

The Google definition IS what it means; a light-hearted way of justifying spending. Eg, Girl Math is ordering an extra item online to qualify for free shipping. Nothing to do with lack of intelligence and everything to do with women not wanting to pay a fiver for nothing, when they can pay a fiver for something.

This.
I can just about cope with girl maths, but unless you live outside the UK, please don’t say girl math.

@funinthesun19 I thought mansplaining was taking the piss out of men, who think that women know nothing, and patronise them by explaining to them things they probably already know.