What is Boy Maths? TikTok’s response to Girl Maths

We’ve all head of Girl Maths - but Boy Maths is taking this social media trend to the next level
Tamara Davison27 September 2023

Girl Maths is one of the latest trends that’s emerged on TikTok this summer, and it’s being used as a way to justify people’s unusual spending habits.

The term is believed to have been inspired by the New Zealand morning radio show, Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley, where the hosts spoke about ‘Girl Math’ when justifying the expensive purchases of female listeners.

It has since exploded in popularity with millions of hashtag views on TikTok. People are now listing off funny justifications like “‘anything under $5 is free, anything I buy with a gift card is free, if I buy something and then I return it, I’ve made money”.

Another user joked: “Girl Maths is so real… I returned something for $90 and then bought something for $100 so I really only spent $10.”

However, while it’s often used jokingly in reference to nonsensical purchases or financial ideas, the phrase has also prompted mixed reactions from some social media followers.

It appears that some took the ‘Girl Maths’ phrase too seriously, and criticised people for their spending habits. As a result, both math has now entered the scene.

What is Boy Maths?

Boy Maths is the new rebuke that users are hilariously using to justify their point and show certain male users that the joke is on them.

Now taking social media by storm, the Boy Maths hashtag is quickly gathering ground as users take aim at certain men’s behaviour.

Clapping back at people who mocked the initial hashtag or criticised women for their spending habits, many are now using the phrase to highlight nonsensical male habits instead.

Some jokes are throwing shade at men’s appearances, like one user who wrote: “Boy math is knowing 75% of your head is balding and still getting haircuts on the last 25%.”

Others are making a thinly veiled dig at relationship habits, like this one: “Boy math is only having 1 pot, pan, spoon, fork, cup and plate and asking her when she going to come cook for you.”

Another joked: “Boy math is paying $44 billion for a $25 billion company and, through business smarts and entrepreneurial know-how, turning it into an $8.8 billion company.”

Even prominent figures such as US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined in, adding: “Boy math is needing 15 attempts to count the votes correctly to become Speaker and then shutting down the government 9 months later.”

In what seems to be a tit-for-tat social media showdown, many social media users are finding the comeback entertaining.

Watching from the sidelines, Twitter users are passing the popcorn as the girl math and boy math feud continues.

“This girl math vs boy math thing will go down in the history books as proof that women are literally so much funnier than men,” concluded one follower.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in